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THE EVANGELICAL 



ECONOMY DEVELOPED 



IN A SERIES OF DISCOURSES 



THE FACTS, INSTITUTIONS, APPLIANCES, EFFECTS, AND FINAL 
RESULTS OF THE 



CHRISTIAN SYSTEM; 






BY REV. THOMAS POTTER, 

Minister of the Methodist Protestant Church. 



ZANESVILLE, O: 

PRINT1D B7 EDWIN C. CHURCH. 
1848. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, by Rev. Thomas Pot- 
ter, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Ohio. 



PREFACE. 



The celebrated Author, Thomas Dick, L. L. D., in his treatise on " the 
moral improvement of mankind," observes, "It is somewhat strange, that in 
reference to preaching, the simile has been introduced into our language, 
*' as dull as a sermon." He then proceeds to prove, there is no necessity what- 
ever, that this disparaging adage should any longer be true; for, says he, 
"there is no class of orators that has such a multiplicity of sublime and inter- 
esting objects and motives at his command, and so extensive a range of illus- 
tration, as the Christian Preacher."— "And yet, a sermon is generally char- 
acterized as a dull and somniferous composition. If this characteristic be true, 
the fault lies, not in the subject, and the narrow range of topics, but in the 
preacher himself." He finally suggests if Preachers would fully meet the spe- 
cial demands of the present age of improvement; if they would not hinder, or 
arrest, — not to say help onward, — the moral progress of mankind; they must 
render their preaching more interesting, by lively descriptions, by pictorial 
representations, by graphic delineations, and by diversified illustrations. Pie 
remarks, "Had we a preacher endowed with the graphical powers of a Sir 
Walter Scott, with a mind imbued with Christian principles, and ardently de- 
sirous to consecrate his faculties to the advancement of practical Christian- 
ity, — He might, by his lively and picturesque descriptions of the scenes of sin 
and holiness, and their respective effects on the moral world, excite attention 
to such subjects almost to as high a pitch, as that celebrated novelist did to 
his tales of warlike encounters, and of knights and ferocious chieftains, whose 
names ought now to descend into oblivion." — In the Sermons, which compose 
this volume, the Author has attempted to practice upon this suggestion. He 
regrets indeed, that his ability was not more fully equal to his purpose. How 
far, — if at all, — he has succeeded in its accomplishment, the reader will de- 
termine. 

The trueism has long been current, that " fact is stranger than fiction." 
This is pre-eminently true of Scripture facts, which vastly transcend, in the 
marvellous, all the creations of the imagination. Nor is it less certain, that 
the representation of the events of Sacred history, and the statements of re- 
ligious truth, may be drawn out in such a manner as to be, at least, equally 
attractive, interesting, and impressive with the delineations and details of fic- 
titious or fabulous literature. This has been the Authors' aim in the follow- 
ing discourses. Confident that the records of Inspiration contain narratives of 
persons, incidents, scenes, and events, more astounding immensely, and more 
touching too, than any or all of the flimsy phantasms that have ever been con- 
jured up to cast their enchantments over the pa^es of Romance, and of the 
Novelist; — the Author of these discourses has endeavored to treat the portions 
of Divine Truth, he had occasion to select for the subjects of his sermons, in 



such a style and after such methods, that, possessing, as they do, the certainty, 
solemnity, and sanctity of essential truth, they might also have sufficient of 
interest and of novelty, to fix the attention, to gratify the gust for mental ex- 
citement, and to impress the susceptibilities of the heart, as intensely, as these 
enervating, deteriorating productions of fancy, which have engrossed the po- 
pular taste of the present day. His object, he has no disposition to conceal. 
In accommodating his style and manner to the popular literature, as far as 
could be done consistently with the sacred character of his themes,— his pur- 
pose is to supplant, and, if possible, to exclude from the families, at least, of 
our own membership, the vitiating publications under the name of Novels, 
which alike unfit, those whom they infatuate, for the sober realities of the 
present life, and for the more momentous concerns pertaining to the life to 
come. With regret he has not unfrequently seen in the homes of professing 
Christians, and in the hands of the youths of their households, these perni- 
cious works of Fiction; and in a majority of instances, it has seemed to him, 
that these works were had and perused simply from the want of books of a 
better character, suited in their literary characteristics to entertain youthful 
minds, — containing such a selection of topics and composed in such a popular 
style, as to interest and to impress, while they instructed and improved. This 
lack of entertaining religious literature, the Author resolved to do what he 
could to supply, by furnishing a series of discourses, constructed and composed 
to meet the present prevailing taste of readers: and if by these exhibitions of 
those statements of Revealed Truth, which "surpassing fiction are yet true," — 
the beauties, wonders, and glories of Christianity should be brought before the 
minds of those who have a taste for reading, so as to outrival and eclipse the 
feigned splendors and the meretricious nothings of the specious publications of 
the day, which please only to pervert and to paralize the mind, — he will con- 
gratulate himself on the accomplishment of a good work. 

There is at least, one fault in these Discourses, of which the Author is fully 
aware, — their length. This however he has endeavored to remedy, by making 
the divisions of these Discourses so distinct, and by commencing the composi- 
tion under each head in such a way, as to allow the reader to break off at the 
conclusion of each division, and to begin anew at the succeeding head of dis- 
course, without interrupting or confusing his consecutive recollections. If 
the reader will regard the general beads of the Sermons, as he does the Chap- 
ters in a book of history, and then see in the particular subdivisions under each 
head, the same partitions of a chapter as are called sections, using them accor- 
dingly, — the disadvantage of the length of these Discourses will disappear in 
reading them. 

It will be observed, that the portions of Scripture introduced into these Ser- 
mons, are indicated simply by the usual quotation marks, without giving Chap- 
ter and Verse; since these would have encumbered the printed text, with 
little or no advantage to the reader, who seldom will be disposed to lay down 
his book to search for the Scriptures referred to. It may also be noted, that, 
in several instances, a different reading from that of the English translation 
has been given to some of the Scriptures quoted; and although the authorities 
for these alterations are not cited, the reader is assured, that none of the dif- 



ferent readings have been adopted without a sufficient reason, and without 
careful consideration. 

The publication of these Discourses may seem to be premature. It is not 
very common to print Sermons, while the Author is still living, and yet actively 
engaged in the work of the Ministry. Besides the frequent and pressing soli- 
citations of many Christian Brethren for their immediate publication, — the 
prevailing reasons, which have induced this deviation from the ordinary prac- 
tice, were derived from the admonitory experience of an aged Itinerant in 
"his recollections." The venerable N.Snethen, a deservedly popular prea- 
cher in his day, says in the preface to his Sermons : 

"We call these discourses, recollections; as we remember many parts of 
them to have been considered the best at the time of their delivery, which 
are now irrecoverably lost, by the neglect of writing them down, through a se- 
ries of years, and this neglect being occasioned, in part, from too great a con- 
fidence in the memory, as though it partook not of our mortal nature. A com- 
bination of circumstances led to the neglect of writing those discourses down 
at the time I delivered them, but the main one I have mentioned; — namely,. I 
was not fully aware how memory would be affected by age. So, when I made 
this attempt to commit them to paper, I remembered that I had forgotten, and 
found that the primary feelings were past never to return. How important, 
then, is it to an extemporary speaker, who relies mostly upon his feelings, if 
he wishes to preserve his best thoughts in the best forms of expression, that 
he should commit them to writing, and not trust to future excitements." — 

Admonished by the experience of this aged Minister, the Author of the fol- 
lowing Discourses determined to avoid the dilemma into which he had fallen, 
by deferring his preparations for publication to the advanced period of life, 
when memory and energy naturally fail. As he is now more vigorous in body 
and in mind than he can ever again hope to be, — engaged as he now is, and 
through life expects to be, in the debilitating toils of an Itinerant Preacher, — 
he resolved to make the best of his prime, by giving to the public a full and 
faithful rescript of these public exercises, which God, in no small degree, had 
blessed for the good of souls, in their oral delivery, and which, he prays, may 
continue to be blessed, " when his tongue lies silent in the grave." Grateful 
for what he has already accomplished, through the Divine Blessing upon his 
Ministerial labors, he cannot be content to terminate his usefulness with his 
life; but desires, and prays, that, when no longer permitted to address his fel- 
low mortals with the living voice, he may still continue his appeals to them 
through the medium of the printed words of this volume; — so that " being dead, 
he may yet speak" to survivors. 

The Sermons, in this series, were composed and delivered at separate times, 
and in different and distant places, in the course of a regular Ministry, which 
commenced nearly thirty years ago; and have been placed in the order in 
which they are presented in this Volume, with the design of giving a consecu- 
tive developement of the Evangelical Economy, from its first induction, to its 
final consummation. 

THOMAS POTTER. 

March 27, 1848. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 
Sermon I. — Original insignificancy the characteristic of all that is great 

in the Evangelical Economy. 9 

Sermon II. —The dispensation of the Gospel the subject of prophetic an- 
ticipation. 46 

Sermon III. — The Evangelical announcement of the Saviors' nativity. 77 

Sermon IV. — The Divine mandate at the incarnation of the Son of God. 113 

Sermon V. — The superiority of the Evangelical Economy. 143 

Sermon VI. — The work of grace on the day of Pentecost the model for reli- 
gious revivals. 165 

Sermon VII. — The primitive Evangelists the patterns of all succeeding 

Preachers. 205 

Sermon VIII. — The moral revolutions which the triumphs of the Gospel 

accomplish. 235 

Sermon IX. — The religious excitement produced by the successful preach- 
ing of the Gospel, defended. 256 

Sermon X. — The Divine institution for saving the world. 284 

Sermon XI. — The principal cause of the failure of the-diversified agencies 

of the Christian system. 311 

Sermon XII. — The final consummation of the dispensation of grace in the 

solemnities of the Day of Judgment. - 332 



SERMON I 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCY THE CHARACTERISTIC OF ALL THAT IS GREAT 
IN THE EVANGELICAL ECOMOMY. 

" And who hath despised the day of small things?"-r-Zaohariah, 4th chap, 
10th verse. 

A littleness, which well nigh provokes contempt, has marked 
the commencement of almost every thing great on earth. What- 
ever is now massive in its size, or mighty in its energies, has be- 
come so from a small beginning. All that, at present, is vast and 
magnificent has, in general, grown up and risen to its present mag- 
nitude and importance, from an insignificancy that may be prqp-i 
erly designated, "the day of small things." 

This is the character of all now remarkable for its greatness in 
the material creation. Look around on nature, and see how nu- 
merous the examples. View yon lofty, wide-spreading oak! Its. 
crowding branches shade the sides of the mountain; its spreading 
roots have laid hold on the bowels of the earth ; its sturdy trunk 
has defied the battling storms of a hundred winters; its verdant 
summit invades the region of the humid clouds, But let us in- 
quire, — =was this noble tree always so? ' Did this "Lord of the for- 
est" always spread so wide, rise so high, stand so firm? Ah no! — ■ 
it had its "day of small things." — Its origin was exceedingly fee-, 
ble and most diminutive. This oak, now so majestic and strong, 
originally sprung from an acorn, that an infant could have crushed, 
and that a worm might have devoured ; and, at first, it appeared 
only just above the ground, rearing a slender stem, with two soli- 
tary leaves, that trembled at every breeze that blew. It was then 
but its "day of small things." — Visit the estuary of some large 
river, where its deep and foaming floods rush and reach the ocean, 
Its waters roll along in sublime and overwhelming impetuosity- 



10 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 

the eye can scarcely reach its opposite shore ; its depths can hard- 
ly be sounded; Navies freighted with merchandise, or fitted for ex- 
ecuting the vengeance of war, float upon its surface ; and beneath 
its dashing waves, hide mighty monsters and shoals innumerable 
of the finny tribes. Now what is the origin of this immense riv- 
er? Is its source, like its confluence, vast? Is it thus wide, thus 
deep, thus magnificent, at its rise? No, no! The spring whence 
this grand stream first flows must be numbered among "small 
things." Pursue its long course through all its multitudinous me- 
anderings, — trace the stream up to its fountain; and to your sur- 
prise, you will find, that this self same river, that so affects you 
with wonder at its outlet, has its beginning in some small glen, at 
the foot of some retired mountain, within a shallow puny pool, 
which the droppings of an adjacent rock supply with water, and 
which a new-weaned fawn, in slaking its thirst, w r ould entirely 
drain. This great and glorious river has a commencement re- 
markable only for its surprising littleness. — Send away your 
thoughts, for a moment, to the coral-built and reef-girt islands of 
the Pacific, all, in living green, laid like so many emeralds on the 
bosom of the ocean. Each of these isles has its hills and vales, 
its lakes, its rivers, and its far-sweeping bays, where vessels can 
shelter from every wind, and where the deep waters of the sea 
sleep unruffled behind the beetling coast. In each of these there 
is territory sufficient for the residence of a whole nation; affording 
ample space for their towns and villages, with their groves, and 
gardens, and plantations ; leaving large tracts of wilderness for the 
range of the hunter and the roaming of game. How imposing 
these islands of the Southern Sea! They were not formed at the 
beginning of Creation, but since, — and whence came they? Had 
you been in existence a few centuries ago, you might then have 
seen the origin of each of these splendid islands in a cell not big- 
ger than a mustard seed ; made at the bottom of the ocean by a 
worm, small as a hair, less than a fmgers'-breadth in length. To 
that first pigmy cell, another was soon added by the same feeble 
artificer, and then another, and so on, in succession; till millions 
upon millions had been piled together; uniting into a solid mass, 
and hardening into flinty rock, as the pile swelled out in bulk and 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 11 

rose in height; till at length a broad and various shaped table of 
land stood above the beating surf of the sea; and over this new form- 
ed land, the tropical sun elaborated a garniture of grass, and 
groves, and herbs, and flowers. This island, now so great and 
gorgeous to behold, owed its first foundation to the smallest of na- 
ture's instruments; and when the little coral worm had finished its 
first small cell, which commenced the island's basement, it had its 
"day of small things." 

In the intellectual world the same analogy obtains : — all that is 
lofty in intellect, or great in genius, has had its season of littleness 
— its incipient state of insignificance. Take, for example, the 
prince of philosophers, — Newton, the Astronomer, of universal 
fame. How profound the scholar! How unrivalled his genius! 
How wonderful his discoveries ! See this great man, grasping in 
his mind, at one all-comprehensive glance, the entire system of the 
universe ; passing from planet to planet in the lofty march of his 
intellect; measuring and defining, with mathematical precision, the 
distances and movements of the heavenly bodies; and mapping 
off the regions of the stars as correctly as the Surveyor takes his 
field notes. Who can refrain from wonder! how godlike the 
man ! But stay,— was Newton always as wondrous great ? Did 
he, from the hour of his birth, exhibit such eminence of intellect? 
Ah! no. Even Newton had his "day of small things." Had you 
lived in his days, by a visit to the place of his nativity, you might 
have met with an old village school mistress, who, with her with- 
ered finger, first pointed out to him the first letter of the alphabet ; 
and who, despairing of her unpromising pupil, had often reproach- 
ed him for his dullness in not distinguishing the most familiar cap- 
itals of the horn book, or for his incapacity to spell a monosyllable. 
This great philosopher was then in his "day of small things." — 
The scientific discoveries of this astonishing man, like himself, 
had an insignificant origin. These great governing laws of the 
universe, which he was the first to ascertain and develope, were 
elicited by the merest trifles. The falling of an apple led him to 
speculate on the power of gravity; a boy blowing bubbles for 
amusement induced him to investigate the subject of light and 
color; and from such "small things," he deduced that grand theory 



12 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 

of Astronomy which still bears his name, and is the imperishable 
monument of his exalted genius. — Take another example; — who 
has not heard of great Caesar, the hero of antiquity, the boast of 
ancient Rome ? What General ever surpassed him in the arts of 
war, or in the splendor of conquests? Europe owned him its con- 
queror ; the most powerful hordes of Africa yielded to his military 
prowess ; while all the great nations of the eastern world submit- 
ted to his invincible legions. Conceive of this illustrious General* 
the pride of proud Rome, the terror of the civilized world ;— who, 
in his military career, scarcely met with any difficulty that he did 
not overcome ; who, by the thunder of his legions, made thrones to 
totter and empires to fall ; who, in the movements and manceuvre- 
ings of his army, performed feats almost approaching to miracles. 
Contemplate this renowned chieftain, so famed for his martial glo- 
ry: — yet what was he once? Need we to be told that Csesar too 
had his "day of small things"? Do we need to be informed, 
that even great Julius himself was once a puny, puleing, helpless 
babe ; and that the very same individual, who was the conqueror 
of Gaul; the invader of Britain; the hero of a hundred battles; the 
imperial master of a thousand provinces ; had previously been the 
powerless captive of the nursery, and was then subject to the chi- 
dings of a female slave? yes! that very self same person, that 
occupied the chief seat of the Roman Senate, previously had filled 
a cradle : — He that so proudly wore the imperial purple, previously 
had been wrapped in swathing bands: — his voice, at which myr^ 
iads of soldiery trembled, and rushed forward to meet dangers and 
death, previously had been heard in the inarticulate cries and petu- 
lant wimperings of babyhood: — his arm, that displayed so much 
nerve and wielded the sword so manfully, previously had been 
hardly able to lift the lightest plaything. It was then with him 
"a day of small things." 

Nor do the worlds of matter and of mind alone furnish illustra^ 
tions of the sentiment propounded. Insignificance describes the 
origin of the largest cities, of the mightiest empires, and of the 
most stupendous events.— Take a survey of some renowned city: 
compass its long extended walls; traverse its thousands of streets; 
look around you on all its greatness and splendor. You are ama* 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 13 

zed at its business and bustle! — you are almost bewildered with 
its grandeur ! — you are completely confounded in contemplating its 
extent! Here, your attention is arrested with massive and mag- 
nificent temples; there, with superb and beautiful mansions. — 
Now, your wonder is raised by the moving crowd which are al- 
ways passing, yet never pass away; then you are filled with sur^ 
prise at the affluence, and equipages, and costly refinement of the 
citizens! Now in this moment of your wonder and surprise, how 
would it astonish you, were you to be told, (and it would only be 
telling you the truth) that on this very spot, where this city now 
stands, and where so many thousands now dwell, encircled with 
all that exalts and embellishes civilized life, once the rank thistle 
nodded in the wind, and the wild fox dug his hole unscared ; and 
that when this very place, which is now the scene of so much 
splendor and bustle, first became the residence of man, nothing 
more than two or three rude and ricketty huts were scattered as 
unsightly spots upon the landscape. This immense city, now in 
the day of its greatness and grandeur, had, when first founded, its 
"day of small things." 

The same sentiment is equally verified by a reference to the ori^ 
gin of empires. We search for the commencement of those na- 
tions, which make the greatest figure in history at the present 
time ; and we trace them to a littleness that confounds all our spec- 
ulations. At one time, a few forlorn fishermen, driven away by a 
hurricane from their native shores, and cast upon an unknown 
coast; at another time, a feeble and fugitive band of pious pil- 
grims> who fled from the land of their fathers, to escape the fury of 
persecution, and to secure a quiet asylum where bigotry had not 
been, and might never be, to exercise its cruel tyranny; — have 
founded empires, which at length have overspread half a continent, 
and now have attained to the highest pitch of national grandeur, 
Nations, — however great and glorious at the present time,. have in 
some former period, and at the commencement of their history, 
had their "day of small things." 

Nor is this sentiment less applicable to events. Many of the 
great occurrences, that have taken place in the world, are the con- 
summation, or final result of a train of circumstances, the first of 



14 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 



an 



which were trivial in the extreme. A few ashes from the wood 
mans' pipe, dropping upon a few dried leaves, have kindled into 
inextinguishable flame, that has burnt, and spread, and raged on, 
till the fire has utterly consumed a whole forest, the growth of 
ages. A single seed, sown by a small bird, in the crevice or joint 
of the wall of a castle or palace, has vegitated, grown and ex- 
panded, till at length it has split off and separated a large frag- 
ment of the building; which, by its expansive force, acquired in 
its growth, it has pushed out of place and hurled down into the 
moat beneath. A small passage, bored in the sides of a canal or 
reservoir by the mining of a crab or mole ; through which the wa- 
ter only trickled at first, then flowed a tiny stream, and finally 
rushed with a roar, — frittering away the soil as fast as it flowed, 
thus forming a wider opening every successive moment, — has even- 
tually made a breach in the embankment so extensive as to pour 
forth over the whole country all the collected waters, which, bear- 
ing down every thing, have swept away dwellings, and produce, 
and cattle, and human beings, in one general wreck and devasta- 
tion. The cloud of a hands' breadth, which at first lay like a 
mere speck upon the distant horizon, ere long spreads and in- 
creases into a threatening storm, which eventually rages with a 
violence so furious as to desolate the works of centuries. 

This characteristic feature, which it is designed to press promi- 
nently on the attention, we perceive, is thus abundantly exemplifi- 
ed ; whether we pursue our inquiries in the material creation, or 
the intellectual world, or among the great events that occur in the 
history of time. All the great things referred to, have had their 
"day of small things." But this is not all. If original insignifi- 
cance is characteristic of whatever is great in the kingdom of na- 
ture — in the empire of mind, and in the kingdom of providence; 
it will be found no less truly descriptive of all that is great in the 
kingdom of grace. This last is, in fact, the fullest and strongest 
illustration of the sentiment now inculcated. All that is great in 
the Christian Religion, whether it pertains to individual Christians, 
or to Christian communities, has its "day of small things." — 
What then? Shall this characteristic feature be a disparagement 
of Christianity? Shall we despise Religion because of its incep- 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 15 

tive smallness? Or shall 'the small things,' with which the Evan- 
gelic system introduces its saving operations among men, provoke 
chagrin, or call forth our contempt? "And who hath despised the 
day of small things?" Unless all other great things may be con- 
temned on account of the insignificanccy of their origin, the small 
beginnings of Religion, which always tend to the most glorious 
and most momentous results, should, in no way — by no means — 
in no degree, be despised. This is the thesis of the present dis- 
course ; the position, which the query in the text requires us to as- 
sume, and which it is now proposed to elucidate and to establish. 
With this design in view, it will be proper 

I. To define "the day of small things." And 

II. To defend "the day of small things" from disparagement. 
The course, marked out for the conduct of this discourse, re- 
quires, 

I. A definition of "the day of small things." 

This is obviously the language of metaphor; a language not 
only common to sacred prophecy, but also most congenial with its 
design, as the basis of a faith in "things not seen as yet": 
what then is the literality adumbrated under this metaphor? — 
What are we to understand by "the day of small things"? 

The interrogatory, which forms the text, was occasioned by an 
incident in the history of the Jews, immediately after their return 
from their captivity in Babylon. Zerubbabel, one of their native 
princes, had received a divine commission to erect another temple 
for the house of God, in the place of that gorgeous edifice, built 
by Solomon, but desecrated and destroyed by the Babylonians. — 
This second temple seemed likely to afford a very disparaging con- 
trast with the first. The Jewish nation were now so diminished 
in numbers, and they were so impoverished in their resources; 
that, with their comparative poverty of means, and paucity of 
hands, they could only hope to rear a building every way inferior 
to the former temple, and absolutely meagre and insignificant in 
comparison. Many of the people, and most of the priests, con- 
trasting their glowing remembrances of the first temple with their 
disparaging expectations of this second temple, were provoked, by 



1(5 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 

its anticipated inferiority, to pour contempt upon the undertaking 
as despicable. To these despisers of the second temple, the Ian-, 
guage of the text was first addressed. By refe.ring to the 3d 
chap, of the Book of Ezra, 8th and 9th verses, and connecting 
these verses with the words immediately preceding the text- — the 
correctness of the explanation now given, will at once be perceiv- 
ed. There is, however, nothing to forbid other applications of the 
significant description of the text. As that passage of this same 
prophecy, which reads, "they shall look upon him whom they 
peirced," has been applied to the crucified Savior; though origin 
nally and literally it had another reference ; by the same rule, we 
may address the question of the text to those, who are tempted to 
despise a more important work, than that second temple which the 
ancient Jews undervalued. Should you then ask — to what may 
the expressions in the text be applied ? We reply, — To the first 
commencement of religion in the human soul; and also to the first 
establishment of Christianity in the world. 

1. The first commencement of experimental religion in the soul 
of man, may, with propriety, be described, "the day of small 
things." Original insignificance is the character of all that be- 
longs to that work of grace in the human soul, which has its finaj. 
consummation in "an exceeding and eternal weight of glory here- 
after." Think of eternal life in a state of grandeur and blessed- 
ness, which, by reason of their incomprehensible magnitude and 
surpassing excellence, are such as "eye hath not seen, nor ear 
heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive" ; 
and will you not be surprised to find these the final results of a 
religious course, which commenced in purposes, and by means, 
and with exercises altogether "small." Think of a body, natu- 
rally gross and corruptible, sublimated into a form, spiritual, ethe- 
rial, and immortal; blooming in unfading beauty; instinct with 
undying energy; radiant with a splendor more brilliant than the 
burning beamings of the noontide summers' sun: — think again? of 
a soul within that sublimated body, made perfect in every part, in- 
definitely enlarged in every faculty, absolutely purified and eter- 
nally separated from every element of pain, or capable of produ- 
cing the least degree of uneasiness, and possessing in its every 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 17 

sensation only another name for blessedness; a spirit all life, — 
whose existence is but bliss, and whose bliss is nothing less than 
the beatification of Deity enjoyed in endless perpetuity: then re- 
membering that all these are the future and final consequences of 
that Religion which begins in small things; will not the disparity 
between the littleness of its first rise and the largeness of its final 
results, lead you at once to admit that, at its commencement, Re- 
ligion has "a day of small things"! A consummation so un- 
speakably vast, compared with a commencement so minute as are 
the first experiences of religion, clearly point out, by the contrast, 
these small beginnings as its "day of small things." 

The instrumentalities, rendered, by divine influence, efficient 
to bring about that moral change in which experimental Reli- 
gion commences, are commonly very trivial. "God hath chosen 
the weak things of this world to confound things that are 
mighty; and things that are not, to bring to nought things that 
are." The means employed — the instruments used, are in them- 
selves small; and in this respect, it is "a day of small things." — 
A prayer, a sermon, a sentence, a single word, a solitary thought, 
— -even a sudden tear in the eye of a pious friend, — a pitiful look 
on the countenance of a sympathizing lover of souls, — aye, a sigh 
breathed out of a bosom burdened with anxieties for perishing sin-^ 
ners, — have often been used as the instrumental agents, by which 
the first religious impressions were made, and the divine work was 
begun in the soul. Nay, not only is this great change, with which 
the experience of religion begins, brought about by trivial, but 
even by improbable means. A Scripture, which, without the least 
effect, had been read before a hundred times ; a short tract, which 
in haughty disdain, was about to be cast away ; a thought, which 
often had been presented to the mind, but never before made any 
abiding impression ; the artless questions of a little child ; and ma- 
ny other things, equally unlikely, have frequently been made the 
means of conversion. Now when instruments of such a charac*? 
ter, — when means so small are employed, it may well he called 
"the day of small things." 

The work of grace in the soul of man is itself, in its commence- 
ment, diminutive. The first experience of Religion is small; and 
3 



18 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 

for this reason, it may be designated, "the day of small things." 
Our Saviour assures us that "the kingdom of heaven" (by which 1 
he meant, the experience of religion in the soul) "is like a grain 
of mustard seed." Now what is the character of mustard seed? 
Why, by a secret, invisible process, it produces "the largest of 
herbs"; but when first cast into the ground, it is "the smallest of 
all seeds." Such then is religion in the soul; though destined to 
result in consequences the most important, and the most glorious,, 
it is at first but a small thing, resembling only the smallest of all 
the things that vegetate. "Again: the kingdom of heaven" (or in 
other words, the experience of religion) "is as if a man should 
cast seed into the ground, and it should spring and grow up, he 
knoweth not how : first the blade, then the ear, after that the full 
corn in the ear." Now what is this but "line upon line,"— a rep-- 
etition of the same notion to strengthen the same position? As if 
the Savior had said, — the soul of a believer, at the moment he be- 
comes renewed, resembles the field of the husbandman; the im- 
mediate indication we have of the divine principle implanted in 
the soul, resembles, "first the blade"; the beginning is small. It 
is no more than a mere germ, — so diminutive as scarcely to be dis- 
cerned by the eye, — what can only be compared to a "small 
thing." It is but a rudimental work, at present, a first element, a 
mere initiatory or beginning of religion ; and though it will, if fos- 
tered in the faithful use of means, swell out, and grow up into a 
magnificent maturity, is often, in its incipiency, too trivial to be 
noticed by others; and sometimes the subject of it himself hesi- 
tates in determining its existence within him. 

If we refer to knowledge in the first experience of Religion ; it 
is exceedingly limited; it is, as to spiritual discernment, "the day 
of small things." Spiritual objects are, as yet, only perceived 
with a vague indistinctness: — the young convert is able only to 
"see men as trees walking." "The day star" has indeed arisen 
in his heart ; but still the light within him is only as the first glim- 
merings of day-break, merely making the darkness, that has be- 
gun to dissipate, visible; and revealing objects only so as to discov- 
er the obscurity in which they were previously involved. The na- 
ture of his guilt, — the depravity of his heart, — the mode of his ac«* 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 19 

ceptance with God — his duties — his dangers — the conflicts through 
which he must pass, and the conquests over sin, self, the world, 
and the wicked one, he must achieve, ere he can "attain unto per- 
fection; all these, which constitute the great lessons of experience 
in Christian knowledge, are very imperfectly understood by him 
who is just in the outset of a religious course. As to experimen- 
tal knowledge of divine things, the young convert is only in his 
novitiate, — his "day of small things." 

If again we refer to faith in the first experience of religion; it 
is extremely weak; it is, as to spiritual confidence, a "day of small 
things." The faith of the new convert is little more than a timor- 
ous, half hesitating assent; to come to which, the mind has had to 
struggle through many fears, and surmises, and suspicions. The 
mind now doubts almost as much as it confides. There is within 
a constant conflict between faith and fear — between hope and de- 
spair; and almost every thing that occurs, during the feebleness of 
this spiritual infancy, provokes the painful strife, and puts it on a 
doubtful issue. The most trivial turn of circumstances is enough 
to shake the confidence of the young believer, and appears to him- 
self, to make his case dubious. His faith is perfectly symbolized 
in the new-sprung "blade" of corn, that shakes, and flutters, and 
shrinks, at every breath of wind which sweeps the field. His 
mind, not yet established in the faith, is continually oscillating — 
balancing between timidity and triumph. One can scarcely tell 
whether faith or unbelief most prevail. .Both these antagonist 
principles are at work in the soul; both are contending for mas- 
tery; both are striving to get the uppermost seat; and now confi- 
dence and then distrust gain the ascendancy over him. The di- 
vine principle within him resembles a small spark of fire, thrown 
upon the waves of the ocean : one moment the little sparkle ap- 
pears on the summit of the rising billow, sending forth its pale 
and trembling light ; the next moment, it seems to sink in the en- 
gulphing waters, extinguished forever ; yet in a short time, the fee- 
ble scintillation is again seen, twinkling above the swelling foam, 
and shedding, as at first, a flickering gleam over the agitated deep. 
Thus the faith of the young believer alternately, rises now in tri- 
umph above his fears, and now sinks depressed by distrust; and 



20 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE j 

then again, acquiring its former energy, prevails over every dis- 
couragement. But if such be the feeble confidence, "the little 
faith" of one newly converted, is it not with him "the day of small 
things"? Compare this failing confidence, this trembling trust, 
this wavering reliance, with the strong, the firm, the indomitable 
faith of an old disciple, who stands fast amid opposition, discour- 
agement, trouble, trials and great temptation, like an isolated rock 
among the raging waves of the sea, unmoved by the turbulence 
and violence of the buffeting, besetting element ; and who holds 
on his way, like the bright sun in the heavens, turning neither to 
the right hand, nor the left, whether stormy tempests shake and 
begloom the sky, or a glorious calm, and blissful harmony gladden 
all: — contrast, I say, that stripling believer, with this old veteran 
Christian ; mark the disparity between the degrees of their faith ; 
and then say, is it not with the former of these "a day of small 
things"? 

The small beginnings of personal piety> which are brought 
about by small means, and are evinced by a small degree of 
knowledge, and a small amount of faith, have then evidently their 
appropriate denomination in "the day of small things," expressed 
in the text. But this representation will apply not merely to the 
individual Christian, but likewise to the universal church. 

2. The first establishment of Christianity in the world, may 
justly be described "the day of small things." 

The mediatorial kingdom, which the Son of God, as "the king 
of saints," hath set up; over whose ransomed subjects, "grace 
reigns through righteousness unto eternal life"; was, at its first in- 
troduction among men, small. Although this is to be "an everlast- 
ing kingdom," and, in its universal extension, is to absorb and 
merge in itself "all the kingdoms of the world": and though des- 
tined to become "an eternal excellency," and to fill the whole uni- 
verse with its glory, sending up its bright emanations of light and 
splendor among "the principalities and powers of the heavenly 
places ; unto whom is made known, by the Church, the manifold 
wisdom of God": — at its commencement, it presented to the chil- 
dren of men nothing but "a stone of stumbling, and a rock of of- 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 21 

fence." Its beginning was so small, that it only excited the con- 
tempt of the wise after the flesh, and the derision of the vulgar. 

The great Son of God, who was the divine Founder, and is ev- 
ermore the sovereign Head of the Christian Economy, had, while 
on earth, his "day of small things." "For our sakes he became 
poor." Though now his name is above every name; though now 
he is made higher than the heavens ; angels and authorities having 
become subject unto him; though, at present, he is crowned with 
a glory more awfully resplendent than the united brilliancy of ten 
thousand blazing suns ; though, at this moment, all the adoring 
myriads of heaven bow in reverence and rapture at his feet, and 
archangels, the highest of the sons of glory in order and dignity, 
when they come near to worship him, veil with their wings their 
own burning brows that are wreathed around with living splendor, 
as if they felt they had no glory by reason of the glory that excel- 
leth in him ; and though millions of mighty worlds are Upheld by 
the word of his power, and offer to him their homage as they pass 
beneath his throne ; yet a little more than eighteen hundred years 
ago, what was he? A babe in Bethlehem; his abode a stable; his 
couch the manger; his clothing swaddling bands; his companions 
cattle; his home a carpenters' house! Nearly the whole of the 
period of his sojourn on earth, he was poor and unknown to fame ; 
and when at length he began to prefer his claims as the Son of 
God, he w-as despised and rejected of men. To the men of that 
generation, he seemed to be, of men, the meanest, — "a worm and 
no man." The finger of ridicule was pointed at him, as mean 
to contempt. The tongue of scorn, as if he were absolutely un- 
worthy of a word, or even a thought, in taunting haste, cried out, 
"Away with him, away with him"! Persecution itself, as though 
the least investigation of his case, would be a stoop too great to 
one so insignificant, peremptorily vociferated, "Crucify him, cruci- 
fy him"! This was the Founder of Christianity. More destitute 
than the animal that burrows in the earth for a retreat, or "the 
birds of the air," that have a nest for their repose ; "the Son of 
God had not where to lay his head." The first insignia of royal- 
ty, that distinguished him, were, a crown of thorns, a mock-scep- 
tre, and a worthless, cast-off robe. His professed friends disowned 



23 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCY; 

and forsook him : his rude enemies smote him and spit upon him! 
The ungrateful city, which had been the principal scene of his be- 
nevolent labors, and over which he had poured the generous sym- 
paties of his compassionate heart, thrust him, with disgust, "with- 1 
out her gates"; and sent him forth "bearing his cross": thus sub- 
jecting him to the indignity of a slave as he trod the scull-strewn 
path to the place of his execution. In the last scene of his life, 
he was impaled, a spectacle of public vengeance and of profound 
disgrace, upon the ignominious, maledictive cross. In his death, 
he was associated with the vilest of men and the most degraded of 
criminals, those who had been both traitors to their country and 
common thieves, as bandit-leaders. The sneering Jews, as they 
passed by, seeing his deep degradation, "wagged their heads": 
the rude soldiery, thinking him a suitable subject for their railery, 
offered him in jest, "vinegar mixed with gall to drink"; while 
they bantered him, "He saved others, himself he cannot save" : 
and the very thieves crucified with him, conceiving themselves to 
be in a less lowly plight, "railed on him." Surely in these scenes 
of humiliation, destitution, and vilifying suffering, the divine Au- 
thor of Christianity had his "day of small things." 

The subordinate Agents of Christianity were equally insignifi- 
cant and humble. In this respect the disciple was not above his 
Lord. The religion of Jesus, which has controlled the fate of all 
empires that have ever yet existed ; and for the ultimate glory of 
which, future kingdoms shall rise, decline, and pass away; and 
which involves in its propagation, the eternal destinies of all the 
millions of the human race; this very Religion has been indebted 
for its triumphs to agents, whom, on account of their insignifican- 
cy, the world has ever regarded with proud disdain! yes, these 
holy, and almost adored names, which we reverence and love; — 
whose very sounds thrill our souls with gratitude, and wake up in 
our thoughts associations the most sacred and sublime; — were 
once deemed the refuse of the earth, "of whom the world was not 
worthy"! The carpenters' son of Nazareth was followed and 
supported by the fishermen of Galilee ! These were the first ad- 
vocates of Christianity: — poor, plain, unlettered men, of whom 
the world took no other note, than that they were deluded by fa- 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 23 

aaticism, and of too little account to be seriously resisted in the 
publication of their wild opinions. Identified with "that name, 
every where spoken against;" destitute of every thing but honest 
zeal; deemed "the offscouring of all things;" with little talent; 
without the learning of the Schools; ranking with the lowest or- 
ders of the civil community: — these first Apostles of the Christian 
system were, in public esteem, "less than the least" of the igno- 
ble and the indigent grades of society. What then? — With agents 
of so small account in popular estimation, could Christianity be 
otherwise, in their day, at least in appearance, than an unpromi- 
sing enterprise, in the "day of its small things"? 

The first ecclesiatical organization of Christianity corresponded 
with the lowliness of its Founder, and the insignificancy of its 
apostolic advocates. — The Church, at first, had its "day of small 
things." The earliest converts to Christianity, who were united in 
religious fellowship to form the first Christian society, were few in 
number, and low in repute. An upper room, that in modern 
phrase would be called an attic or garret, was sufficient to accom- 
modate the whole of the first community of Christians, in their 
regular meetings for religious worship, a considerable time after- 
the Divine Head of the Church had set about its organization. — . 
The primary Church of Christ commenced with twelve persons, — 
all the Christians then in the world; and after a long and laborious 
ministry, assisted, too, by the co-operation of seventy disciples, 
during a considerable portion of the period of his ministerial la- 
bors, only about one hundred and twenty names were all that 
were enrolled in the records of his Church, when the Son of God 
left our world. His name, at that date, had hardly been heard 
beyond the narrow bounds of the land of Israel; and those wha 
then believed in his name, and who were united in the Christian 
fellowship, were so small a number in comparison with the whole 
population of the limited territory of the Jews, as only to be "like 
unto a handful of corn on the tops of the mountains." — If, how^ 
ever, they were insignificant in numbers, they were not less so in 
character. What then were these first converts to Christianity? — 
Not any of the wise after the flesh; not any of the mighty; not 
any of the noble ; not any of the learned ; not any of the affluent ; 



24 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE 

no! they were, in general, of little repute. They were chiefly col- 
lected from the inferior classes of the civil community, and had 
been accustomed to the lowest walks of life. Poor, ignorant, ig- 
noble, and previously in a state of great moral debasement, and of 
deep spiritual darkness, they were, with but few exceptions, very 
lightly esteemed among men. Many of them were household 
slaves; the rest belonged to a class of characters but little superior 
to them in rank and reputation. These were the first Christians 
that embodied the first Christian Church: — truly the church was 
then in its nonage, — "its day of small things! " What a contrast the 
christian world, in the present day, exhibits both in the numbers 
and the character of the professed followers of Jesus! Now the 
church enumerates its membership, by its tens of thousands! Now 
the great and wise, as well as the good, patronize the cause of 
Christianity, and seek to be identified in its religious organization! 
Now the church has spread to "the utmost verge of the green 
earth," and has, in almost every nation of the world, a member- 
ship and a ministry! Now the church cometh up out of the wil- 
derness, fair, as the moon walking in her brightness; clear, as the 
sun shining in his strength ; terrible, as a triumphant army with its 
waving banners! Compared with all this, exhibited by the church 
at present, how diminutive, and how unpromising its aspect when 
in "the day of small things," its members, all told, amounted to 
little more than a solitary hundred; and these, most insignificant 
characters in the view of mankind! 

Nor was this original insignificance peculiar to the first church 
at its first commencement. Nearly all the most extensive Chris- 
tian societies existing in this our day, and in our own country, 
have, like the first church, risen up to their present magnitude and 
strength from a small beginning, which is properly indicated in 
"the day of small things." With a few exceptions, it will be as- 
certained on inquiry, that each of these Christian societies had its 
rise in an evolution of circumstances, really trivial in itself, and 
was, at its commencement, both as to its numbers and influence, 
extremely "small." Two individuals, it may be, residents of the 
same town or neighborhood, chanced unexpectedly to fall into 
each others company. Entering into conversation, they mutually 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 25 

discover, that a religious meeting had simultaneously occupied the 
private thoughts of each. The propriety and the practicability of 
such a meeting are discussed, and settled between them; and be- 
fore they part company, they pledge themselves to meet every Sab- 
bath for prayer, in some small, obscure building. — For several sab- 
baths, their prayer meeting was attended only by their two solitary 
selves. At length an unoccupied stroller, happening to wander 
that way, attracted by the unusual voice of prayer, ventured into 
the humble, hallowed place, merely to indulge his curiosity. De- 
lighted and affected by the service, this third person promises to be 
regular in his attendance. Another, and another, and yet another, 
were successively added to the little praying band, all apparently 
by accident; then their friends and their families came; till at 
length, the small obscure building proved too strait for them. — A 
larger place for the meeting was sought, — procured. This larger 
place soon became too crowded for the increasing congregation; 
and eventually, it was proposed that a proper place, to be appro- 
priated to divine worship, should be built. The church-edifice is 
finished; — a regular Minister is engaged; — a society is organized; — 
divine ordinances are constantly observed; — the cause flourishes 
abundantly; it goes on to prosper: thus the present extensive and 
respectable religious society has been raised. — More than a ma- 
jority of the largest christian societies now existing, originated in 
this way, or in a manner somewhat similar. At their commence- 
ment, their membership was "small" in numbers, and in influence; 
and they have attained to their present greatness, by progressive 
advances from that "day of small thing." — 

The modern institutions of Christianity have all had their "day 
of small things." Increasing by degrees from a small beginning, 
they have at length reached their present extensiveness of strength 
and usefulness. 

What was the origin of the Bible-Society? — A society this, that 
collects its thousands and hundred of thousands of dollars annually; 
that ranks among its advocates and friends, every name of worth, 
of talent, of influence, and of high respectability in Christendom; 
and that has agents and exerts its mercy-bearing influence, in every 
nation, people, and tongue, upon the face of the earth. Whence 

4 



26 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 

came this magnificent institution, with all its mighty energy, — its 
almost boundless resources, and its widely extended power to bless 
the whole family of man? — What was its rise? — A moments' re- 
flection will convince you, time was, when this vast, and noble 
society had no other existence than in the crude conception of the 
mind of one single individual, who, at that time, was little known, 
and had still less influence: and it is matter of history, that some- 
time after its first formation, it evinced much of the insignificance 
of its origin, having to struggle hard for its continued existence; 
and could scarcely be preserved from public contempt. How sur- 
prising that so powerful an institution should have sprung up from 
so feeble an origin! 

This was the incipient character of all kindred institutions: — 
they were small at first. — The Missionary Society, which is the 
glory of the age, and of the country that gave it birth, was not al- 
ways so distinguished. This very institution, stupendous, as it 
now is, in magnitude; and fraught, as it is, with benefits of the 
highest kind, which it is diffusing with a liberal hand through the 
whole earth; when it first arose, resembled the cloud, beheld by 
the prophet from the summit of Carmel. It was, in appearance, 
about the size of a mans' hand! Some deprecated its approach, 
as if it were charged with the fire and fury of heaven. Others 
deemed it an empty vapor, that would soon pass away or dissipate. 
But it has outgrown the littleness of its first appearance. The 
cloud completely expanded, now covers the face of the whole 
heavens, big with blessings; and drops down fatness upon the 
thirsty nations, the joy and rejoicing of the whole earth. Who 
could have anticipated so vast a result would have arisen out of a 
"day of small things"? This however is the fact. This exten- 
sive and illustrious institution, that has been the prolific parent of 
so many other benevolent enterprises, and that has exerted so im- 
mense an influence for good upon the world, — was the offspring 
of a casual thought, — the dictate of a solitary suggestion! 

And how did the Sabbath School system come into operation? 
Was it the production of some renowned genius? Was it ushered 
into public notice with great parade? Did it come forth perfect 
in all its details and appliances at once? No. — The very reverse 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 27 

of all this characterized the outset of this greatly blessed institu- 
tion. The scheme, in its first attempt to be put in operation, was 
on a very small scale, and in its arrangements, was exceedingly 
defective. It was, at first, attempted to be carried into effect as a 
temporary, unpromising experiment, rather than as an efficient 
and permanent institution. It is said to have originated with an 
individual of feeble mind, of no pretensions to celebrity, — whose 
ambition was to be useful rather than to be popular. Passing 
through a wretched and deplorably wicked neighborhood, where a 
number of ragged and 'profane children were at play on the Sab- 
bath day ; — a vagrant thought crossed the mind of the benevolent 
Raikes, that suggested to him, the possibility of making these de- 
moralized youth, better in character, and happier in condition, by 
imparting to them moral and religious instruction. From this tri- 
vial incident, arose that first Sabbath school, which gave rise to all 
those almost innumerable Sabbath schools, that honor and bless 
nearly every town and vicinity in our native land, and that are to 
be found rearing up a seed to serve the Lord in every part of the 
world! How great a benefit has arisen from a trivial incident! 

The great temperance reformation, which has been so eminent- 
ly useful in reclaiming the unhappy victims of a debasing vice ; 
and which has so frequently performed the part of a poineer to 
the gospel, by preparing the way, so that the word might have 
free course and be glorified; — affords a further instance in illustra- 
tion of "the day of small things." Like an angel of mercy, heav- 
en-sent and heaven-blest, this institution whose mission* is to ban- 
ish as a beverage all intoxicating liquors; has gone through the 
length and breadth of the land: — exploring the dark lanes and al- 
leys, where vice concealed its denaturalizing orgies from the public 
eye: — penetrating into the dreary and filthy hovels, which intem- 
perance had made the abodes of want, of disease, of misery, of 
every evil: — with one hand, kindly lifting up to hope and health, 
and happiness and usefulness, — those, who had been lost, — to 
themselves, to their families, to the civil community, lost; and with 
the other hand, beckoning them towards that "narrow way," 
which leads to glory, bliss, and immortality beyond the grave! Its 
beneficiaries, whom it has rescued from a living death in mental 



28 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 

and moral extinction, placing them in their proper position again 
as useful members of society, — happy themselves and making oth- 
ers happy; — now stand up "an exceeding great array," number- 
ing in its redeemed ranks, persons of all classes, of all professions, 
of both sexes, and in all places. And who needs to be told, — 
where, — how, — by whom, — this movement, in which so many 
thousands have realized a moral resurrection, had its origin? — Is it 
not notorious, that this great moral triumph began in a small com- 
pany, composed of characters of still smaller repute? It was not 
men of high standing in society, and of great celebrity for learning, 
or piety, or philanthropy, assembled together, after much note and 
preparation, in a crowded convocation; it was not these great men, 
met in a great place, and forming a great company, that gave rise 
to this great work: — no! no! no!— but a mere handful of inebri- 
ates themselves, who had so debased themselves by the reason de- 
stroying potion, as to be almost past hope; and in the gloomy pri- 
vacy of a back apartment of one of these accursed establishments, 
where they themselves, by the intoxicating cup vended to them, 
had been cruelly robbed of reason, character, happiness, health, 
and whatever adorns and benefits the present life, or fits man for a 
better existence beyond the present! — These were the 'men, — so 
small in number and so low in character, that were the originators; 
and this was the scene, — so obscure, so unlikely, so seemingly un- 
congenial, where was the rise, — of the great temperance reforma- 
tion! It most unquestionably arose out of a "day of small things." 
The notice of this great reformation in morals, reminds us of two 
still greater reformations in religion, that occurred long prior to this, 
and that were equally distinguished by a corresponding insignifi- 
cancy of origin. — ^Christianity can point to no brighter page in the 
annals of her progress, than that which describes the religious ref- 
ormation, of which, Martin Luther was the first promoter. Prot- 
estanism, as it appears at present; — in all its numerous and wide 
spread ramifications; with all its noble and benign institutions; 
and exhibiting such a fund and energy of active benevolence, which 
is operating for the immortal interests of mankind all over the world; 
owes its existence to that great work, that gave it birth. Omitting 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE, 29 

the enumeration of the happy effects produced by this far reaching 
event, upon the secular governments of nations, — upon the differ- 
ent departments of natural science, and upon literature in general; 
— for who does not know that all that is now liberal in civil gov- 
ernments, all that is splendid in the discoveries of modern science, 
and all the progressive improvements of literature, take their date 
from the event which first snapped asunder the clenching fold of 
those fetters, that had held the minds of men in dark, depressing 
thraldom ? But passing on from these, to the more direct and the 
more important of its effects on the religious world ; there needs no 
hesitation in making the assertion, that not only in and around the 
locality where it sprung up, and through the countries bordering on 
its boundary, did this triumph of moral truth produce effects, which 
entirely revolutionized the spiritual condition of the people ; but it 
also, in no secondary sense, and in no slight degree, changed the 
state of the moral universe. In Europe, it gave to several large na- 
tions, liberty of conscience, independence of thought, the free use 
of the sacred scriptures, and a Christianity, pure and simple, res- 
cued and restored from the vile abuses, the degrading fooleries, and 
the gross superstition of Romanism; and beyond, by the emana- 
tions of its influence, reaching out to every part of the world, and 
to every section of the human family, through the medium of the 
truth which it unfettered, unveiled, and freely dispensed to all ; it 
put an arrest on the further spread of the errors and ecclesiastical 
tyranny of the mystic Babylon, in some places; while from other 
places having expelled entirely a masked, and distorted, and mu- 
tilatpd Christianity, it replaced the christian caracature, with the 
hallowed spiritual energies of the saving truths of an unso- 
phisticated gospel: at the same time, it started into existence, 
and set at work a train of moral causes, w T hich ever since, at differ- 
ent periods, operating steadily but often secretly, have wrested 
away, and otherwise appropriated, one portion after another, of the 
domain and "the power of the beast;" and which are now, and 
will, in future, continue to be pressing on the certain process of dis- 
memberment, till "the lying power" is weakened to its final down- 
fall. All this must strike us with greater surprise, when we recall 
the fact, that this great revolution of religion was accomplished in 



30 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 

the face, arid immediately in the presence of an array of opposing 
power, the most formidable perhaps that was ever embodied. The 
primate of Rome had, in an almost innumerable priesthood, a host 
of supple minions, that with a nod, he could bend to his will, and 
bring to act most effectively against any object or person, which 
might give umbrage, or prove inconvenient: not only so, but claim- 
ing secular supremacy in the right of his spiritual authority; he, al- 
so had aj; his bidding, nearly all the most powerful monarchs of Eu- 
rope, with all their emissaries, their armies, their national resources, 
and the secular power of all these, to inflict physical pains and pen- 
alties upon all innovators. To this summary of hostile elements, 
add this further discouragement, that the efforts requisite for this 
reformation, were direct acts of aggression; and if successful, could 
only be so, by driving out of the field the mighty enemy, already 
in its full possession, and long and deeply entrenched in its almost 
impracticable strong-holds. Do not these details present a task of 
great severity, and of almost overwhelming difficulty for the refor- 
mer ? B ut what -of that ? Notwithstandin g all these things ; — not* 
withstanding all these means of intimidation, and all this formida- 
ble power of resistance— -it was attempted' — -accomplished! How? 
By whom ? On what occasion ? When history directs us to a poor 
lone Monk, sitting in his little, grim cell, musing over the extortions 
of Rome, in the sale of indulgences ; — pointing out him as the 
prime mover, and the mere extortions, without questioning the in- 
dulgences themselves, as the first occasion of this great reformation; 
do not- you at once discover in the insignificancy of the man, in the 
obscurity of his situation, as well as in the smallness of the occa* 
sion — "the day of small things?" 

At a more recent period of the history of Christianity, the rise of 
Methodism in the revival of practical godliness and scriptural holi* 
ness, though the preaching of the Wesley's, and their fellow labor- 
ers in the gospel, may be justly regarded as a second reformation 
of religion. In its general features, this was almost a counterpart 
of the first reformation, although in its occasion, and in several of 
its details, it was somewhat different. The first found a Christian- 
ity without Christ, and brought out again "the truth as it is in 
Jesus :" — the latter found Protestantism a dead formality, and res- 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE, 31 

tared again its divine life : — as in the first, the truth was made free; 
so in the second, Christianity was made in earnest : — in the rise of ' 
protestanism, Christianity was purified from dead works; in the rise 
of Methodism, christians were energized into newness of life, by a 
spiritual inspiration, under which their hearts began to glow with a 
hallowed fervor, and their lives exhibited all the quickened activity 
of an honest and devout zeal. This modification of Christianity 
which we recognize under the once reproachful, but now boasted 
name of Methodism, needs no eulogist in the present day; for its, 
own works are its proper encomium — seen and known by all men. 
Before it embarked to bear 'the holy fire' across the broad Atlantic; 
or had landed and set down 'its sacramental host' among the children 
of the sun, in the spicy isles of the south; in the land of its birth, 
and while in the feebleness of its infancy, Methodism — amid a great 
fight of affliction; with a haughty and jealous government scowl- 
ing upon its enterprising zeal; and the wordly, lordly hierarchy of 
the establishment, threatening its disinterested emissaries; and the 
rude and violent rabble, committing brutal assault and battery up-, 
on all its humble, unresisting adherents; had shed over all England 
and a considerable extent of Ireland, those scintillations of chris- 
tian fervor, never yet put out, but burning brighter, clearer, wider 
every day; and had planted in every town of note, and in many of 
the rural parishes, its well organized societies, which in the aggre- 
gate of their membership amounted to thousands, all living in the 
practice, and having the power of godliness. Nor is it a vain as- 
sumption to assert that whatever of vital godliness, or of spiritual 
energy, has been, and is still exhibited, by other denominations of 
christians in Great Britain; it caught its inspiration, and derived its, 
first impulses from the followers of Wesley. For until these wor- 
thy followers of a most worthy leader, began to exhibit the life 
and power of godliness, all the religious sects were either stupified 
with the cold insensibility of heartless forms, or else were drowsily 
resting in indolent repose on an orthodox sentimentalism. Even 
the descendants of the Puritans, who, according to unquestioned 
history, had alone preserved among them the last sparks of civil and 
religious liberty, had not been careful to retain, at least in their pris-? 
tine intensity, those sacred fires of vital godliness, that burned i& 



32 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 

the bosoms and shone in the lives of their devout ancestry. Espe- 
cially in the Established church, embracing at that time not less 
than nine-tenths of the population of England; all the religion to 
be found, or to be seen, consisted in decent church-going, and in 
muttering over, in careless haste, the responses of a formal ritual; 
followed, not unfrequently, with games and sports that profaned 
the Sabbath, within the very enclosure surrounding the house of 
God. In the midst of this season of inaction and inanity, Meth- 
odism, under God, not only reared up a spiritual household ©f its 
own, a numerous and a goodly seed; but by indirection, through 
the conjoint influence of its stirring operations, and the provoca- 
tives of its many heavenly minded examples, imparted to all other 
churches a portion of its own hallowing warmth, that gradually 
thawed away their cold insensibility, and spurred them up to an 
emulating energy of purpose and to an effective activity of zeal. 
But passing away from what was done at first; and leaving; a 
long parenthesis between, unfilled, with w T hat has been accom- 
plished in the mean time; let us stay a moment to glance at the 
present fruits of Methodism in the various branches of its great 
family, as a general result. Yet how shall this be told! It is one 
of the marvels of true history! When we have been informed, 
that a full moiety of the immense population of England proper,, a 
large proportion of the people in the adjoining principality of 
Wales, not a few in Scotland and the Orkneys, and multitudes in 
all the provinces of Ireland, — are at this day consolidated, under 
this name, into vast religious bodies : — and wdien we are further 
told of the thousands and the thousands of thousands in the Amer- 
ican States, glorying in this name, and adorning the doctrines it 
designates, with their piety and good works : — and when we have 
had an exhibit, of the noble temples for worship, of the several 
seminaries for learning, of the large printing establishments, of 
the Sabbath schools and other benevolent institutions, — raised vol- 
untarily under its influence on both sides of the Atlantic, exhibit- 
ing so much liberality and such an extent of resources as almost 
challenges credence: — when all these products of Methodism have 
been announced, — still the inquiry comes to us, — where is the 
continent in which its societies do not locate? Where are the 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 33 

people not visited by its Evangelists? What island, of which sea, 
if tenanted by man, has escaped the eye of its benevolence, or 
been excluded from the plan of its mission operations? Where 
are Methodist, pious and prayerful, not to be found? The south, 
far beyond the islands of spice, cries out,— "they are here"!— 
The north, up in the everlasting snows of the frigid zone, re- 
sponds, — "they are here"! The oriental, from her hive of na- 
tions, looking out upon the dark waters of the Euxine, and over 
the blue waves of the Mediterranean, repeats — "even here are 
Methodists" ! From the far West, where the desert ranger in his 
wanderings, and the restless adventurer in his imigrations, are 
at length stopped by the surging surf of the Pacific ocean, they 
themselves answer, — "lo! we are here"! — Now, after this admi- 
ring survey of these prodigious manifestations of a living Christi- 
anity, let us turn back and look at its first development. If we 
are surprised at Methodism in its present vast accumulation of 
members, influence and operations ; must not our surprise be lost 
in wonder, when the record written by its founder, describing its 
first rudiments, its primary elements, — meets our eye, thus : — "In 
1729, two young men, in England, reading the Bible, saw they 
could not be saved without holiness : followed after it, and incited 
others so to do." — "God thrust them out to raise a holy people." 
So it arose! "Two young men"— these were the beginning: — 
"reading the Bible" — that was the exciting cause :— these youths 
saw that holiness was necessary to salvation — that was the para- 
mount reason: — they followed till they found "scriptural holiness" 
— that was the grand desideratum: — "they incited others so to 
do" — that was the simple mode of operation: — and "they raised 
up a holy people" — these were the people first called Methodists! 
— "Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth! Surely, 
surely, when these two young Bible-readers united to seek after 
holiness, and to fix upon measures to incite others to the same es- 
sential attainment, Methodism was in its "day of small things." 

The examples, illustrative of this characteristic feature, might 
be multiplied almost indefinitely ,but sufficient have now been ad- 
duced to demonstrate, that all the great results of religion, under 
the economy of the gospel, may be traced back to "the day of 
5 



34 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 

small things;" when small means, small agents, small operations, 
and small acquisitions, made up what constituted a small begin- 
ning. Well, — what of this? — Does this demonstration, in its 
bearing upon Christianity, produce, in any one's mind, dissatisfac- 
tion? Do the great things of religion become depreciated be- 
cause they have a small beginning? Does the littleness of their 
origin take oft aught from the largeness of the issues ? Is, for in- 
stance, the final consummation of christian experience, in the 
perfection, bliss, and splendors of heaven to be contemned; or, 
are the mighty and magnificent results, developed already, and 
still further developing now, and in the future, to be developed 
yet more extensively, in the dispensation of the gospel, to be 
despised; — are either of these great things to loose all or any of 
their intrinsic value, or to be shorn in the least of their sterling 
attraction, because they had their initiation in "the day of small 
things" ? To meet this inquiry, it will be needful to endeavor, 

II. A defence of "the day of small things" in religion from 
disparagement. 

"And who hath despised the day of small things"? This ques- 
tion does not at all imply doubt, or uncertainty. It does not pre- 
suppose that there may be those, who have, or who think they 
have, reasons to justify them, in despising "the small things" of 
religion. The converse of this is what is here predicated. The 
interrogative form of speech, it is well known, is often used for 
the purpose of making an affirmation clearer and stronger, on the 
supposition, that one answer only can be returned to the question 
proposed. It is so here. When the text asks, — "Who"? — it is 
in the confidence, that the only reply that can possibly be given is 
— "None"! — for no one can have a good reason for despising "the 
day of small things." No. — It is not reason, but the perversion 
of reason, that leads any one to despise these "small things" of 
religion, which, as incipients, contribute to so stupendous conse- 
quences, as are contemplated in the future and eternal rewards of 
Christianity. Sound philosophy dictates an opposite course. — 
That philosophy, which is based upon right reason, requires, that 
we should view the beginning in connexion with the end; and 
that we should appreciate the smallness of the commencement,, as 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 35 

indispensible to the immensity of the result, realized in its final 
and everlasting consummation in the eternal life of heaven. Ev- 
ery rational dictate, that is worthy of the name of reason, justifies 
such a course as this, in our treatment of "the small things" in re- 
ligion. For do but consider, — 

"The day of small things" is not despised by mankind, in oth- 
er things; — 

Nor is it despised by angels, who are greater and wiser than 
men; — 

Neither is it despised by God, who is the most high, and whose 
wisdom is infinite. 

"The small things" of religion should not be despised because, 

1. Small beginnings are not despised by mankind in other 
things. — In ordinary life, and in things natural, the littleness, of 
what is likely to become great, is never despised. In their treat- 
ment of common objects and common affairs, reasonable persons, 
in no instance, pour contempt upon the small beginnings of those 
creatures, or of those things, which, when grown to maturity, will 
be large. Those individuals, indeed, who are not wise in their 
generation, may not see the end from the beginning; and in con- 
sequence, may turn away in disgust from the feebleness of the in- 
cipient state ; but those who, in their regards, are wise enough to 
connect together cause and effect, and to realize in the small com- 
mencement the first advance made towards a matured completion, 
cannot entertain any such feeling of disparagement. Whatever 
promises to become great, is measured according to the greatness 
of its coming maturity, even when in the littleness of its "day of 
small things." 

This same consideration should govern us in our treatment of "the 
small things" of religion. They should be regarded as the hand- 
ful of "first fruits," which are to be followed by the fulness of a 
prodigious ingathering. They should be viewed as the small caus- 
es which draw after them immense consequences. They -should 
be treated as the minute preliminaries in the outfit of an enterprize 
■of unparalleled sublimity, which, in its full accomplishment, and 
in its ultimate effects upon the well-being of the individuals con- 
cerned, will have a conclusion, immeasurable in its magnitude, and 



3G ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE; 

inconceivable in its blessedness. The end cannot come without a 
beginning, and all the intermediate stages which lead on from that 
beginning to the end which is its consummation ; and hence, how-* 
ever small appearances may be in the beginning, they acquire, by 
this necessary connexion, a value and importance proportional to 
the great results to be realized in the end. 

See you that nursing mother — does she despise her infant because 
it is a "small thing?" Ah ! no : — she would spurn at the thought ; 
and why? Why does not the mother despise that puny, weakly, 
wimpering, helpless creature, that sleeps on her lap and hangs at 
her breast? Why? Because she knows if the good Being be pro- 
pitious to her prayers, and "bless the lad," he will at length attain 
to the stature, and strength, and intelligence of matured manhood; 
while her fond heart, in the musings of its maternal tenderness, flat- 
ters her with many glowing presages as to his future goodness and 
greatness. Neither then, should w T e despise the "babe in Christ," 
because of his diminutive stature in religious attainments, since w T e 
are assured, he is already "born again after the image of him that 
created him ;" and, by the inward and certain process, now oper- 
ating within him, will, at length, grow up into a bright and beau- 
tiful resemblance of Deity; — "unto the measure of the stature of 
the fulness of Christ" so as to become "a perfect man in Christ Je- 
sus." Does the pious husbandman despise the little spires or blades 
of wheat that appear in winter, but just above the ground, because 
they are small things? No, no! — he eyes them, at once with si- 
lent thankfulness and pleasurable hope: — and why? Why does 
he not trample upon these small, slender, sickly things ? Surely, 
because he knows, if a favoring Providence protect these "small 
things," through the winter's frosts, and stormy blasts ; and at the 
proper season, send sunshine and showers; they will gradually rise 
up to a goodly stature, and then unfolding luxuriant ears, will even- 
tually wave over the gladdened furrow, bowing with golden grain. 
Neither then should we despise "grace in the blade;" — the first 
feeble indications that in the heart, there is "something good tow- 
ards the Lord God;" — these first appearances of spiritual concern 
and these first movements of moral feeling, which are the prerequi- 
sites for the attainment of a religious state: — inasmuch as we do 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE* 37 

know, that these small beginnings, cherished and improved upon 
with diligence and perseverance; and aided and strengthened by 
the grace of God; will grow up and ripen into the matured fruits 
x)f faith and of holiness, filled and laden with which, "the just man 
made perfect" shall be gathered "as a full ripe shock of corn" in- 
to the garner of heaven. Does the man of learning despise the 
first effort of the young pupil in his attempts at the solution of the 
first and easiest question in Arithmetic ? By no means ; — he is 
pleased with the simple effort of the young learner; — and why? — 
Why does not this learned man slight a circumstance so trifling? 
Because he knows that the great mathematician, Kepler, first learnt 
that two and two are four; and that upon the certainty of that first 
simple problem, depend all the higher calculations in Mathematics. 
Neither then, should we despise the first faltering essays of the 
young convert, to unravel "the first principles of the doctrines of 
Christ ;" or to disentangle the least of difficulties in "the great mys- 
tery" of experimental "godliness:" — since it is certain, that the 
most illustrious saint now beatified in the presence of God, was 
once, at the outset of his religious course on earth, as great a no- 
vice in divine things ; and was then equally perplexed and puzzled 
with the self- same simple inquiries. Does the parched and fain- 
ting traveller, as weary and thirsty, he traverses the burning sands 
of Africa, under the overpowering blaze of the vertical sun, look 
with contempt at the small vapors gathering in the distant horizon? 
Or when these vapours have become condensed into a thick cloud, 
-and the cloud has extended till it forms a sable curtain, covering 
the whole face of the heavens, — does he despise the few, small, 
scattering drops, that come fitfully from the overspreading cloud? 
O, no! They are regarded by that thirst-sick wayfarer with joy : 
and why ? Wherefore does he not despise this small rain, and the 
first small appearance of the cloud whence the rain-drops fell! — 
Ah! he knows they are the promise of a shower; the forerunners 
of a plenteous outpouring of refreshing rain, which, filling the pools 
of the desert, and thus furnishing a seasonable supply of water, will 
be as "life from the dead." Neither then should we despise the 
occasional seriousness indicated in the looks, or the few tears that 
drop from the eyes of those partially awakened to a sense of their 



33 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 

lost condition, because these tokens may be few and transient and 
unfrequent ; — seeing that these pleasing appearances may prove the 
precursors of a full shower of genuine repentant tears. The emi- 
nent artist, who has made the canvass almost to live, by the skilful 
touches of his pencil, and the natural tints of his coloring, — does 
he despise the rude chalk-lines which are drawn by the amateur 
boy upon the wall ? Despise them ? No ! he views them with grat- 
ification: — and, why? Because that eminent man knows that he 
himself first conceived his taste for the art, from such uncouth per- 
formances; and that from these rude beginnings, he had gone on 
to perfection, till he has ultimately attained his present ability and 
skill as a finished artist. Neither then should we despise these 
first developments of the divine principle exhibited by the begin- 
ners in religion, or their failing attempts in religious exercises, or 
the limited reach of their little experience, merely because these 
are imperfect, unskilful and somewhat irregular: — because we are 
aware that the most eminent christians that ever lived on earth, 
however wise, or strong, or pious, they might be in the maturity of 
their religious attainments, bad at the commencement, a similar 
"day of small things." What then is the conclusion of the whole 
matter ? "Who shall despise the day of small things?" In other 
things, it is not despised by reasonable persons; and therefore, it 
ought not to be despised in the things of religion. 

"The small things" of religion should not be despised, because 

2. Angels do not despise them. 

The most minute operations of religion on earth, engage the at- 
tention and enrapture the feelings of the inhabitants of the heav- 
enly world. These, beings of celestial birth, and first born sons 
of God, are immensely higher in rank than man ; their natures are 
Vastly more grand, and their grasp of thought, and powers of pen- 
etration, take a sweep wider, and further, and fuller, to an incal- 
culable extent ; and yet superior, as they are, in dignity, and in- 
telligence, they bend down their earnest regards to earth, and 
busy their benevolent thoughts, with every thing, however small, 
that bears upon the well being of the children of men. The 
humblest individual on earth, — though "less than the least of all," 
•and "the basest" of the mean, no sooner begins to set himself 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 39 

Godward, than he attracts the notice of the angels of heaven, and 
at his conversion, elicits their most enthusiastic joy. Their native 
home, the world of glory, seems to have no attraction to them, 
because of the intensity of interest they feel in contemplating the 
event, in which the sinner is raised out of his ruined condition, to 
the happiness, dignity, privileges, and prospects of a child of God. 
When any son or daughter of Adam, — smitten with a sense of 
guilt, begins to feel the first throes of the spiritual birth, these 
ministers of love "come forth to minister to the heir of salvation." 
They quit their thrones of gold, they lay aside their dazzling dia-. 
dems, — they leave behind, the fair fields of light, and the ever 
blooming bowers of the celestial paradise, — to come down to be 
witnesses of the delightful issue. They leave the sublime sympho- 
nies of the celestial choir, as if less enchanting than the faltering 
accents, that tremble on the lips of the penitent. They pass by 
ten thousand worlds, glowing with glorious light, as if these were 
less admirable to them, than the uplifted hands and the tear-be-. 
dewed face of the returning prodigal, bowing in the dust before 
God. "Yea, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God: 
over one sinner that repenteth." Behold yonder solitary and low-- 
ly dwelling, secluded in the sequestered bosom of the dark forest, 
far from the busy haunts of men! A humble son of toil is the 
tennant of "this cottage in the wilderness" : and now "the spirit 
of the living God" is there, in that lone, low abode, working the 
life-giving process in the soul of the dweller in that forest home. 
None of the human kind are near to the spirit-troubled man, save- 
the meek companion of his house ; but heaven has a witness even, 
in that scene of solitude. An angel, intelligence-bearer to the 
upper world, is now retiring from the threshhold of the dreary 
dwelling. — See you not how the angel-messenger lifts himself up 
from the ground, and mounts, with rapid wing, into the regions of 
light ! Then he passes into the portals of heaven, and presses on 
to the pavilion of Deity. Among his brother-spirits, in numbers 
numberless, his arrival wakes up a universal and absorbing inter- 
est. All heaven is now silent; — all are hushed in mute suspense, 
wondering what tidings come from earth. — The herald- angel 
droits at the footstool of the divine throne, and delivers in his re^. 



40 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 

port to "the King of glory." — Now hark! What a burst, — how 
quick and how loud, — -of rapturously glad applause! — What 
sounds! What shouts' What songs! All harps, all trumpets, 
all tongues in heaven, pour forth their highest, most joyous tones? 
All heaven is one festal scene, vocal with big bursting delight! — 
The reverberating dome of the eternal temple rings; — the loud 
sounding symphony goes forth beyond "the utmost bound of the 
everlasting hills;" echo, full and distinct, repeats this triumph- 
chorus through a vast cycle of worlds! What now is the cause, 
— why all this tumult of applause throughout heaven? What has 
occasioned this stir, so enthusiastic, — this festivity, so universal, 
among these lofty intelligences around the throne of God? What? 
A tear! — a small trembling tear!! — seen by that angelic messen- 
ger before his departure from the humble dwelling in the deep se- 
clusion of the gloomy wild. This, this, it was, that set all heav- 
en in joyful commotion; — this alone awoke the loud and universal 
hosannas of the high and happy beings above! — a tear! — aye; but 
it was a genuine repentant tear; — a tear, which was the outward 
token of an inward and spiritual change; — a tear, which, as the 
external representative of "a repentance not to be repented of," is 
the first fruit of a life of godliness, and the earnest of glory, honor, 
and eternal life hereafter. — Yet it was but a tear! And is it so, 
that so "small a thing" should interest and rejoice the Angels of 
God? — It is even so; — I say unto you," says the Son of God, "there 
is more joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth." — Yes, yes, 
the joy is "faore" after the event, than before existed. — Now if 
Angels, who are so much greater in dignity, and superior in knowl- 
edge than we are, display a disposition so much the reverse of 
contempt, and are so far from despising this "small" beginning of 
religion, that it produces in them an increase of joy; surely, surely 
there can be no room, at least, no valid reason, for us to despise 
this, or any, of "the small things" of religion, that look forward to 
an end of supreme and unending delight and glory! 

"Small things" in religion should not be despised, because 
3. The great and glorious Jehovah does not despise "the day of 
small things." 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 4^ 

The great Supreme, "whose name is above every name," 
"whose glory is above the heavens," and whose dwelling is "the 
high and holy place," — though he designates himself the high and; 
lofty one," has, in many instances, evinced the most marked re-, 
gard to things, exceedingly diminutive in their dimensions,, and 
humble in their characteristics. Amid the vast multiplicity of in- 
terests, which require his attention, and, while occupied in superin-. 
tending the mighty movements, of the millions of worlds, and sys-. 
tems of worlds, which fill the universe;- — the great God has often 
shown, in the fact, that he has time enough to spare, and condes- 
cension sufficient, to permit even him, to bestow a direct and deep-?, 
ly interested notice on objects, which can only be placed in "the- 
day of small things." Scripture history abounds with illustrations 
of this pleasing fact. 

The ark of hullrushes in which a Hebrew mother, with so much 
solicitude, enclosed her lovely little Moses, when trembling she 
had to cast him on the banks of the Nile,, was indeed a very "small; 
thing;"' — -but did the most high either scorn or overlook that 
^small thing?" Ah! no. That ^small thing" was as much in 
his eye as all the land of Egypt! Did not his providence w T atch the 
sacred deposit, small as it was ? Was it not hy his invisible but 
omnipotent interposition, that the exposed babe was protected 
from the savage alligators, yawning on every side to make the 
^small thing" their prey? And was it not God himself that direc-. 
ted to the precise spot the Egyptian princess for the phild's rescue? 
How affecting, to behold the Almighty showing such attention, and 
taking so much care, of little Moses in the ark,, that was so "small 
a thing '."—When Samuel was brought to the house of Qod in 
Shiloah, and left there to be employed in the services of the sanc- 
tuary, being very young, he must have been "small;"— but did 
Jehovah slight the child? no^ Young in years as he was 3 and 
short in stature as he must have been, and of little importance as. 
he seemed;— the great God paid a more marked regard, and bes?. 
towed a greater distinction, upon that "small child," than upon all 
the thousands of Israel besides. Did He not bow the heavens, 
and come dowm on a special visit to the child Samuel? And when, 
we bring to our recollection, with what father-like condescension, 

6 



42 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 

and kindness, in the darkness and silence of night, he approached 
the sleeping boy, laid upon his little couch in a corner of some lit- 
tle recess of the tabernacle ; and when we remind ourselves, with 
w r hat a friendly, confidence-inspiring tone, he called the child out 
of his soft slumbers, and encouraged him to rouse up, amid the 
confusion of his half- awake thoughts; and when we farther re- 
member, with what readiness and unreserved familiarity, he re- 
plied to the "still small voice" of the little one, as he timidly re- 
quested, "speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth;" and finally, and 
especially, when we fix our recollections upon the recorded fact, 
that Jehovah in person conversed affably with the "small child" 
face to face, as man does with his fellow man, and made known 
to him future events, in which he himself was concerned, as well' 
as many other individuals high in office, and also the whole nation 
of Israel: — shall we not be convinced by each of these particulars, 
and by this history in general, that the great God, though he be in- 
finitely "high over all," does not indeed despise "small things?" — 
Were these two mites, amounting to no more than one farthing, 
which a poverty-stricken widow cast into the treasury of the Tem- 
ple, overlooked or despised by him, w T ho could call the cattle upon 
a thousand hills his own, and who, as original proprietor by right 
of creation, could say, "all the gold and silver are mine?" The 
amount indeed was small, very small, and in comparison with the 
largesses poured in by the rich, was absolutely insignificant ; but 
did he, "God, our savior," look with contempt upon its bestow- 
ment? — Quite otherwise. Without counting, or even ascertaining 
the splendid sums, donated by ostentatious affluence, he fixes the 
gaze of the assembled crowd upon the meekly retiring woman in 
mourning weeds, that, softly treading, had stealthily dropped her 
two little coins into the coffer ; and publicly applauded the humble 
donor, with loud encomiums, for her "small" gift! — In the day 
when Divinity dwelt with men, enshrined in human flesh, and in 
the person of Jesus, went about performing miracles of mercy, the 
hem of his garment was secretly fingered by a feeble invalid "who 
had an issue of blood;" — and did the divine Jesus disregard or 
despise the small touch of the sickly woman ? What says the in- 
spired narrative ? His inconsiderate and less compassionate fol- 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 



43 



lowers bristled up at the mere insinuation, that one so exalted as 
they knew him to be, should take any notice of an act so small. — 
"They marvelled" when surrounded as he then was, with admi- 
ring thousands, he enquired for, and sought out in the crowd, the 
little, withered, stooping patient; and demanded, "who has touch- 
ed me?" Yet more sympathizing and condescending than man, 
the incarnate God made that touch, which was truly a small thing, 
effectual to her instant and permanent cure. — See, through the me- 
dium of retrospection, that sordid mammon-server, the sin convic- 
ted tax-gatherer, "going into the Temple to pray." See how the 
publican smites upon his breast, as he prays, "God be merciful to 
me a sinner!" What a short and simple prayer! How mean the 
offerer of that small prayer! Nevertheless that prayer — that per- 
son, was heard — accepted — answered : — by the almighty maker of 
all things, was that simple prayer, and that insignificant petition 
beard, and accepted, and answered. The publican went down to 
his own house justified! — One of the most interesting scenes in the 
beautiful narratives of our Savior's labors of love on earth, is, 
when they brought to him "little children." The supercilious 
disciples affected to disdain these "small things," and administer- 
ed a prompt rebuke to the parents and friends, who had presumed 
to intrude into the presence of the great Son of God with such 'lit- 
tle ones," thinking that creatures so small, were beneath his no- 
tice and below his care. But what said the Divine Redeemer? — 
Did he spurn these "little ones" out of his sight? Did he lift up 
his hands to thrust them away ? Did he raise his voice to a pitch 
of harsh indignation and bid them begone? O, thou "Lamb of 
God," how do such derogatory questions wrong the inexpressible 
gentleness of thy generous nature! Very different was thy tender 
treatment of these "little ones!" With a smile of love, that might 
make the seraphim flutter with delight, he looked upon these 
"small things," and in a tone, rich with the soft sweetness of 
yearning affection, he gently said, "suffer these little ones to come 
to me: — forbid them not; for pity's sake, forbid them not; for 
of such is the kingdom of heaven!" And now see, the abashed 
disciples give way and stand back ; the laughing "little ones" for- 
getting their first fears, run and catch at the hand and the robes of 



44 ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 

the meek and lowly Son of God ; while he, acting in the character 
and in exemplification of the offices of "the Good Shepherd," took 
the young lambs in his arms," blessing them! Surely this was 
compassion and condescension immeasurably kind, demonstra- 
ting, beyond all controversy, that infinitely exalted as He is, in his 
own uncreated glory, He hath indeed a regard to small things! — : 
And what more needs to be said ? Is there a worm that crawls 
on the ground; — an insect that flits in the sunbeams; — a sparrow 
that falls to the earth ; or a hair that drops from the head ; without 
our Heavenly Father's notice? And what sigh escapes the lips of 
the child >of sorrow, that is not written down in his book? What 
tear trickles down the cheek of the afflicted, that is not treasured 
up in his '"bottle?" And what desire to enjoy the blessings of sal- 
vation, however small, is not hailed with delight by him, who re- 
joices over all his works> riot excepting the least, to do them good? 
If then the great Supreme, — the glorious Jehovah despise not these* 
it is self-evident, that the smallest things of religion should not be 
despised by us. 

What use then is to be made of this demonstration? Let it act 
as a caveat, to dissuade you from setting at nought anything con- 
nected with religion, however small! 

Unconverted man, — unregenerate woman, — you have occasion- 
al and transient impressions of religion ; unbidden thoughts come 
over your minds, ever and anon, about God, your own soul, death, 
judgment, eternity; a sense of your spiritual danger, and of the 
desirableness of personal religion will, now and then, dart through 
your soul; and though this consciousness of your insecurity, and 
of the importance of salvation, quickly departs, it frequently re- 
turns: — despise not these small things! Seek not to suppress 
them, as if they were worthless intruders into your minds; but 
cherish them — indulge in them; strive to retain and increase them! 
They are the motions of the Spirit of Truth within you; and these 
first movements 'of your moral nature, which, if followed up by 
penitency and prayer, will bring you into the fulness of the bles- 
sings of the gospel of Christ. 

Hearers of the word, do you feel tempted to set at naught the 
exercises and ordinances of religion? Does the scepticism of your 



ORIGINAL INSIGNIFICANCE. 45 

heart 'secretly -suggest to you — what use is it to pray ? — what is 
there to be had in reading that Book, the Bible ? Why talk and 
think so much about God and the soul? What are preachings, 
conference meetings, the sacraments, that we should attend to 
them ? despise not these small things ! for these are the means 
of grace, which God himself has appointed, to fit and to furnish 
the soul for eternal glory! 

Professors of religion, are you living in a careless manner ? — 
Are you indulging in some neglect of duty,' — some irregularities 
in your daily conversation,— some words, or tempers, at variance 
with your holy calling ; all of which appear to yourself but "small 
things;" — do not despise these "small things." They may be 
'so many stumbling-blocks, over which your fellow-immortals may 
blunder into hell! 

Ministers of the gospel, is your present success small? Des- 
pise not these small beginnings :— "forasmuch as ye know that 
your labors shall not be in vain in the Lord." 



SERMON II 



THE DISPENSATION OF THE GOSPEL THE SUBJECT OF PROPHETIC 
ANTICIPATION. 

Isaiah, 27th chap. 13th verse. — "And it shall come to pass in that day, 
that the great trumpet shall be blown ; and they shall come, that were ready 
to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt ; and 
shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem." 

Trumpets were in common and constant use among the an- 
cient Jews. Trumpets directed them, when to march, and where 
to halt in their journey to the promised land. Trumpets guided 
and gladdened all their movements, during their long, weary wan- 
derings through the wilderness. Trumpets gave the alarm and 
called them to arms, when hostile armies threatened an attack. 
Trumpets gave the spirit-stirring signal, and sounded the dread- 
ful onset of battle, Trumpets celebrated the triumphs of victory, 
when their vanquished foes fell or fled. Trumpets recalled and 
re-assembled their victorious bands, after the battle, to gather up, 
and to divide the spoils. Trumpets were employed at all times, 
on all great public occasions, both civil and religious. Trumpets 
hailed the first gleam of "the day-spring from the womb of the 
morning"; and poured forth a parting salute to the last, lingering 
ray of the setting sun. Trumpets were sounded, when "the new 
moon," first discovered its silvery, line-like, semisphere, from be- 
hind the receding shadow of the earth; — whence their "solemn 
feasts" took their date. Trumpets called together the congrega- 
tion, when "prayer was wont to be made." Trumpets proclaim- 
ed the sacred hour of sacrifice, daily, morning and evening. — 
Trumpets announced the year of jubilee, at the first dawn of its 
first commencing day ; and during the feast of the jubilee, trum- 
pets were blown in every tribe, and in every inheritance through- 
out the land. Trumpets, — in a certain festive season, called "the 



PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 47 

feast of trumpets," — superceded all other instruments of music; 
and without a pause, were sounded over the ever-burning sacrifi- 
ces, from the mornings' earliest break to the evenings' prevailing 
shades. Trumpets, every seventh year, ushered in the grand sab- 
batic season of rest and release, — "the acceptable year of the 
Lord"; when the captives were set free; all debts were cancelled; 
all properties returned to their original inheritors ; and a universal 
cessation from all servile labor and manual employmont, gave a 
sacred and happy repose to the whole "goodly land" of Israel! — 
So common, — thus frequent, was the trumpet employed among 
the ancient Jews. 

Now from this familiar and constant use of the trumpet, its 
sound, at length, came to be an established, and well understood 
metaphor, or figure of speech, denoting any public announcement 
of a general or national benefit. The blowing of the trumpet 
was employed, as a figurative expression, to signify the formal 
publication, of any thing greatly good, or highly advantageous to 
the people at large. For instance, the public proclamation of 
any propitious event, calculated to be a great blessing to the whole 
nation, was usually symbolized, or prefigured by the blowing of 
the trumpet; — an emblamatic representation, or metaphor, with 
which every Jew was familiar, and which was at once, clearly 
and fully understood by all. This then is the use of the figura- 
tive language in the words before us. 

The text is a prophecy of the proclamation of Cyrus, the King 
of Persia, officially authorizing the release of the exiled Hebrews 
from their captivity in Babylon; their immediate return to the land 
of their fathers; and the rebuilding of the city and temple of Jeru- 
salem. These captivated Jews had, during the time of their exile, 
been in most forlorn circumstances, and in a situation of great af- 
fliction. They were oppressed by those that carried them away 
captive. They were worne down by labor, disappointment and 
fatigue. They were not only helpless, but entirely hopeless; so 
much so indeed, that when God turned again their captivity, they 
were as men that dreamed; — their escape from captivity was alto- 
gether unlooked for, and had seemed to them next to impossible. 
They had no friend at court, — no arms in possession, — no money 



48 PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 

and without ability to raise any,- — no correspondence, — no inJS«-. 
enoe, They were thus destitute of all adequate means, and could 
adopt no measures at all likely to succeed. Their best endeavors 
to obtain their freecjom, it had seemed to them, must not only have, 
been fruitless, but would have been sure to result in their enlarged 
sufferings and increased oppression.' — But what of all this?' — With 
God, their God, all things were possible! When He had a great 
good to be secured, never was he wanting in ways and means — . 
agents and accomplices! — Accordingly the great signal is given, — >. 
"the great trumpet is blown,"— ^the royal proclamation is publish-, 
ed, — the edict of the Persian Monarch is issued! "Thus saith, 
Cyrus King of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me 
all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me, to build 
him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah; who is there among 
you of all his people? his God be with him and let him go up to> 
Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God 
of Israel (He is the God) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever- 
remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, Jet the men of his. 
place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and 
with beasts, besides the free-will offering for the house of God that 
is in Jerusalem."— Ezra 1 Chap. 2, 3 verses. Pursuant to this 
proclamation of the renowned Cyrus, many thousands of exiled 
Jews, dwelling in and about Babylon (now a part of the Persian 
Empire,) rallied around Zerubbabel, one of the royal princes of 
Israel ; and under his conduct, made their w T ay back to their na- 
tive land. On their arrival there, they raised up again their cities 
from their ruins; they restored again Jerusalem to be a city of hab- 
itation; their Temple which had been sacked and dilapidated, 
once more stood up, glorious to behold ; their priests again put on 
"their beautiful garments," bedecked with azure and with gold ; 
and the worship of Jehovah, with its ever-breathing incense, its 
solemn pomp, its sublime psalmody, and its hecatombs of bleed- 
ing victims, was at length re-instated, and thenceforward contin- 
ued for ages! 

This was the original fact, to which the prophecy of the text 
first pointed ; but this was not its only reference. It looked to an 
(event, far more important than the temporal deliverance of the 



PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 40 

Jews :— =it referred to a proclamation, much more interesting and 
glorious than the edict of Cyrus : — it predicted tidings, incompar- 
ably more precious and cheering, than those of the return of the 
Jews. While, in the first instance, this passage speaks of the 
proclamation which gave liberty and the land of their fathers, back 
again to the captive Hebrews ; in its ultimate scope and design, 
the prophecy of this passage foretells an announcement, which 
gives life, hope, happiness and heaven, to a sin- enslaved and hell- 
doomed world! In this, its final and fullest signification, it is a 
prophecy of "the preaching of the gospel unto every creature un- 
der heaven," to gather into one "a people for God" out of every 
nation, people and tongue ;-^in consequence of which, "the outr, 
casts, who were ready to perish," shall come,-^-from the east, — 
from the west, from the north, and from the south, — to sit down, 
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God. The 
prophecy, in its final application, brings before us, 

The gospel; 

Its greatness; 

Its dispensation; 

Its objects ; 

Its attractions; and 

The final result of its complete success. 

The most prominent term, in this figurative passage of prophet 
cy, introduces to our notice, 

I. The gospel — "the trumpet." 

In the writings of the New Testament, a divine revelation is, 
communicated to mankind. This revelation is more full and com-, 
plete in "grace and truth," than any previous communication of 
Deity to our race. Its province is, to announce, that an aliTSufrH 
cient savior has actually come into the world, and made a univer-. 
sal atonement for sin in the person of the God-.man Christ; and to 
ofler, through the mediation of the great Atoner, a full, free, and 
eternal redemption to all mankind, in every part of the world, and 
in all succeeding generations. This latest revelation from God, 
— on account of the fulness of its discoveries, and especially, be- 
cause of the unmixed, and unbounded benevolence of its, gracious 
communications,— ^-is emphatically, and in the way of distinction, 
7 



50 PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 

denominated, "the gospel." Gospel — is a Saxon word, which, in 
its literal and primitive sense, and in its common use, simply sig- 
nifies good news, happy information, beneficial intelligence, a joy- 
ful report. When the term is used to designate the revelation of 
grace and mercy in the New Testament, there is always added an 
emphathic prefix, the definite article ; and we read, the gospel, by 
way of eminence and for the purpose of denoting its surpassing 
character. Other communications may be regarded, gospel; but 
this, because of its infinite superiority to all others, is the gospel: 
other news may be good; but this contains the best of all good 
news: other intelligence may be useful; but this is to the last de- 
gree, vital: other tidings may be beneficial; but these are most 
blessed: other information may be important; but this makes wise 
unto salvation. The gospel thus derives its name from its une- 
qualled and transcendant manifestations of redeeming grace. 

In the prophecy of the text, this gospel, which, because of the 
fulness of its saving benefits, claims to be, the gospel, is represent- 
ed or prefigured by "the trumpet." The figure has an obvious, 
and even striking correspondency with the thing signified. The 
examples already adduced, sufficiently indicate, that throughout 
the Jewish nation, "the trumpet" was a familiar figure, an estab- 
lished emblem, a well understood similitude, in ordinary use, for 
the purpose of describing a public proclamation of any great, gen- 
eral good; and the gospel, which is here figuratively represented 
by "the trumpet," is the divinely inspired announcement that pro- 
mulgates the "good will of God" to the race of mankind. There 
is thus, we perceive, a congruity, or agreement, clear and closely 
traced, between the representation and the reality intended; be- 
tween "the trumpet," as the emblem of a propitious proclamation, 
and the gospel, as its verification, in "the good tidings of great 
joy," that are thereby promulgated to the sinful family of man. 

This is, in fact, the specific character of the gospel. It is noth- 
ing else and nothing less than a proclamation of "good tidings of 
good unto all people." Matters of a somewhat different cast, it is 
true, may be found in the christian scriptures; but these form no 
part of the gospel itself. There are divine threatenings, and pe- 
nal denunciations, in the New Testament, as well as in the Old; 



PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 51 

and these are often exhibited by the christian ministry with the 
greatest propriety: but these are not the gospel. There are also 
precepts, prohibitions, and injunctions, strict and stern, in the wri- 
tings of Christianity; and these are frequently enforced, with every 
degree of consistency, by the preachers of the gospel: but these 
are not the gospel. There are too, several ecclesiastical regula- 
tions, and various religious institutions, detailed in the New Testa- 
ment scriptures; and these are constantly explained and defended, 
with obvious utility, by the ministers of Christ: but these are not 
the gospel. There are, in the evangelical records, pourtrayed and 
particularized, evil men and evil spirits, and evil practices; with 
the consequent misery, which these evil men, and evil spirits, in 
the pursuit of these evil practices, have brought into the world; 
and these are repeatedly exhibited, with good practical eflect, by 
the true evangelist: but these are not the gospel. All these are to 
be found in the christian scriptures, or in those writings which pro- 
mulgate the gospel; but these are distinct and different from the 
gospel itself. The proclamation of Cyrus had inserted several 
other matters and things along with its main theme; — contained 
orders, requisitions, prohibitions, and threats on disobedience; al- 
though "the good tidings," of the release and the return of the 
captive Jews, were what alone called forth the proclamation, and 
what really gave it its distinctive character. Just so, — although 
many other topics, of an aspect somewhat different, are scattered 
through the writings of the New Testament, the gospel itself is 
nothing otherwise than a proclamation of good. The speciality is 
"good tidings of good!" It is the divinely authorized announce- 
ment of that, which is only good, — good supremely, — good univer- 
sally, — good eternally. 

Indeed the gospel, in this respect, stands alone, — not only une- 
qualled, but defying all comparison, — by rising infinitely superior 
to every other message, which has brought tidings of good to man. 
The good, which the gospel announces, is totally, entirely, com- 
pletely good; — good unmingled, unbounded; — good, incapable of 
improvement, or enlargement. Few, if any, human proclama- 
tions of good, are without some admixture of evil. They are not 
altogether good. They have something injurious or afflictive inci- 



52 PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION i 

dental to them* Ifhe messenger, for instance, who announces 
peace between two nations, that had been at war; at the same 
time, conveys intelligence of a very different kind. He brings 
|rood tidings, it is true; but that is not all he has to tell. He pro- 
claims, "there is no more war;" and that intelligence is good, 
Very good: but then he has something besides, and something 
the actual reverse of this to make known. He has to tell 
of the deadly conflict, of the human butchery, of the torrents 
of blood, of the hundreds and thousands of the mangled and 
slain, which the battle-field beheld, before the peace that he has 
to proclaim, could be procured and permanently secured. — 
While he publishes news of a general and important benefit, he 
'also, is necessitated to make known an extensive, deplorable, and 
deeply-felt calamity. The olive-branch, which he waives in tri- 
umph, as the emblem of peace, has been drenched and is still 
dripping with the reeking blood, that was the price of reconcilia- 
tion. The trumpetings, the shoutings, the rejoicings, which his 
proclamation wakes up, — are often repressed, and almost hushed, 
by the wailings of widowed wives, whose husbands fell in the final 
contest; or the sad lamentations of childless parents, whose only 
sons poured out their blood on the shields of the enemy; or the 
convulsive sobs, — the bitter cries of helpless orphans, whose brave 
fathers bled in the arms of victory. Scarcely ever is any peace 
proclaimed between two belligerent nations, without such a draw- 
back, — without such a mixture of painful and calamitous intelli- 
gence, along with the good tidings. But is it so in publishing the 
peace of the gospel? No. The messenger of the glad tidings of 
the Gospel, has no counter intelligence; — nothing to disclose along 
with the good news he brings to man, to damp the delight, or to 
check the rejoicings, which his peace-breathing message inspires? 
He has to tell, of no loss sustained— of no misery inflicted, — of no 
havoc perpetuated, — of no injury occasioned, — when he proclaims 
his joyous tidings! no! — all is good and nothing but good. — 
His message is "good tidings of good." As says the prophet 
Isaiah, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him 
that bringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that bringeth 
good tidings of good." Yes! — good,—- exclusively,' — universally; 



PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 5$ 

"good, without detraction; good, without limitation; good, without 
mixture of evil; good, without bound in its abundance; good 
without end m its continuance. It is even so. The grace and 
mercy, which the gospel reveals and offers to mankind, have been 
procured without the least harm to any one. Neither of the par- 
ties concerned in the greatly good transaction, which brought 
"peace on earth, good will to man," — have been hurt at all; but 
both have been largely aggrandized. Neither God, — "who was 
in Christ reconciling the world unto himself;" nor man, — "who 
thereby obtained peace with God," — so making war between heav- 
en and earth, man and his maker, to cease; — neither of these have 
been injured in any way, or in the smallest degree: but God, as 
well as man, and man, as truly as God, have been mutually hon- 
ored, and respectively blessed. The herald of the gospel, who 
brings tidings of this great good, does not raise us to raptures by a 
first message, which informs us of a peace effected between God 
and man; and then immediately confounds us by a second account 
that details to us, how much the divine character has been dishon- 
ored in the transaction, or that multitudes of human beings have 
been damaged in its accomplishment. There is no such sad se- 
quel to the good news the gospel brings to us; — no such gloomy 
accompaniment of the tidings of its great joy; leaving us perplex- 
ed with doubt, whether the event were not more of a calamity than 
a benefit; and whether its announcement did not call for the wail 
of lamentation rather than the raptures of rejoicing. No! no! — 
The proclamation of the gospel is, "good tidings of good;" — good 
in every respect, and naught but what is good. Hear 'the tidings' 
as they came fresh from the seat of the supreme sovereignty; and 
as seraphic Heralds, with music in their voices, encored over Beth- 
lehem's hills, "Glory to God in the highest; peace on earth, and 
good will to man"! This, this, is the gospel! the glorious gospel! 
the blessed gospel! — the message of God to man, that announces 
for God all honor; and for man all happiness; — a combination of 
separate interests, that involves pure, unmixed, unbounded, unen- 
ding good to universal being! — How appropriately then is the gos- 
pel prefigured as in the text, by the "trumpet." As "the trum- 
pet" was, in ancient times, the usual type, or emblem, descriptive 



54 PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 

of the publication of any great, general good; and as the gospel is 
the publication of the good will of God to mankind; we cannot 
but see a striking correspondence between "the trumpet" men- 
tioned in this prophecy, and the gospel, which it is intended to rep- 
resent or prefigure. 

From the gospel itself, we pass on to consider, 

II. The greatness of the gospel. 

This prophecy not only furnishes a representation of the gospel 
under the similitude of "the trumpet," but also declares its great- 
ness. It is here named, "the great trumpet": elsewhere it is cal- 
led "the great salvation": "How shall we escape if we neglect so 
great a salvation"? In what way does this appear? Wherein is 
this "salvation" "so great"? What entitles the gospel to be con- 
sidered the great gospel, appropriately represented, when symbol- 
ized by "the great trumpet"? Much every way. It is the great 
gospel, properly prefigured by "the great trumpet," because, — its 
author is great, — its objects are great, — its design is great, and — 
its promises are great. The gospel has thus abundant claims, to 
be considered "great"; and to justify its representation by "the 
great trumpet." 

1. The Author of the gospel is great. 

The gospel originated, — not on earth, but in heaven; — not with 
man, but with God our savior; — not from the devices of human im- 
agination, but from the great heart of the glorious Deity. It is the 
"glorious gospel of the blessed God": — it is "the word of the gos- 
pel of God our saviour": — it is "the glorious gospel of Christ who 
is the image of God." True it is, the divine Author of the gospel 
had not much appearance of greatness during his sojourn on earth. 
While in this world of ours, "He who is the apostle and high- 
priest of our profession," "took upon him the form of a servant." 
His characteristics were, penury, insignificancy, and humiliation. 
He appeared destitute, afflicted, degraded and impotent. Man- 
kind, as it were, hid their faces from him, in scorn at his poverty, 
or in contempt of his meanness. What then? 0, even then the 
divinity dwelt within him; even then "the Word, made flesh, was 
God"; — even then "he had all the fulness of the Godhead bodily"; 
— even then, "he possessed the fullness that filleth all in all." — 



PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 



The greatness of his nature was concealed under the humble form 
he had assumed. "The mighty God" was hidden, as it were 
shut out of sight, by the "veil of his flesh," which he took upon 
him in his incarnation. What though he seemed but the poor car- 
penter's son! What though he appeared to be a frail, feeble for- 
lorn, "child of Abraham," born of woman! What though appear- 
ances indicated to the outward eye nothing in him more, or more 
exalted than the humble, penniless, houseless, rejected, despised 
Nazarene! What of all this? Truly he was "God over all and 
blessed forever." He who was "as a child born, and as a son giv- 
en," was none other than "the mighty God, the Father of eternity 
the prince of peace." His name, Immanuel, being interpreted, 
is "God with us." Nor indeed could this, at all times, or altogeth- 
er, be concealed. The glories of his character, though in general 
so enshrouded in the humble form of his humanity as to be unseen, 
could not be hid entirely; but would occasionally break through 
"the veil," and blaze out with overwhelming lustre; disclosing, in 
his own uncreated grandeur, the enshrined Deity. Consider him, 
who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself; — and 
you will evidently discover, divinity in union with humanity; God 
and man in the one Christ; the human and the divine natures coa- 
lescing and blending in the same person of the Lord Jesus. At 
his birth, you behold his true humanity indicated in the feeble 
babe laid in the manger; and his undoubted divinity recognised in 
the mandate, "Let all the angels of God worship him." While 
earth refuses his manhood a place in "the Inn"; his Godhead is 
pointed out by heaven with a gorgeous star, that spreads a cano- 
py of splendor over his humble cradle. Herod persecutes the 
man by "seeking the young childs' life" ; but eastern sages bow 
and adore the God, to whom they present their rare and costly ob- 
lations. At his baptism, you see man descend to the water, "ful- 
filling all righteousness; and God, overshadowed by the dove 
shaped spirit, proclaimed, by a "voice from the excellent glory, 
"This is my beloved Son." In the ship, you perceive man who 
slumbers, and is overwhelmed in sleep; and God, who rises in 
conscious power, and at once speaks the roaring winds to rest, 
and the tempestuous billows into placid stillness. Over the grave 



56 PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 

of Lazarus, you discern man who weeps, grieves and groans; and' 
God, who, by a solitary word, brings back life ta a corpse dead 
four days. In the garden of Gethsemane, you observe man, sei-* 
zed, bound and led away by a band of Roman Legionaries; and. 
God, who by a single breath of his mouth, lays low on the ground 
all these mighty men of war. On the cross-— (0 that cross! the 
scene of such humiliation and such triumph! where misery and 
majesty, is so strangely mingled and blended! whence life divine 
proceeds from so great a death!) — on the cross, you behold mas, 
suffering, bleeding, bowing his head, and dying, exceeding sor- 
rowful even unto death; and God, who, at that dread moment^ is 
agitating universal nature; till the world trembles, the air is dar- 
kened, the sun hides in gloom, the rocks are rent asunder, the 
dead are startled from their graves;—nay, the whole universe is 
shaken, as if shocked by the sight, and aroused to emotion by the 
death of its creator and ruler! — its Lord and God! 

This is the Author of the Gospel. Who can dispute the excel- 
lency of his dignity? His greatness is, in fact, unequalled. Nay, 
He alone is great, — and all besides are small and insignificant 
compared with him. He is infinitely higher, than the highest of 
created intelligences. In this respect, "all have no glory by rea-- 
son of the glory that excelleth" in him. You may traverse all the 
continents and islands of the globe; yon may search through all 
worlds, to creations' utmost bounds; you may pursue your inqui-. 
ries throughout the high climes of perfection, and look around 
among the burning thrones of the bright Seraphim that grace the 
court of heaven :— but no where will you find a being so great as 
the Author of the Gospel, or that will bear any comparison with 
him! Between the loftiest Archangel that flutters, in gorgeous 
grandeur, at the footstool of Deity ; and the little puny insect, that 
flits, hardly to be seen, in the summer's sunbeam, the distance 
and disparity are not half so great, as that between the most ex- 
alted of created beings and the great Author of the Gospel. His 
greatness is absolutely unspeakable. If, then, the Author of the 
Gospel be so inexpressibly great, surely the Gospel itself must be 
a great Gospel; and this great Gospel must be rightly represented 
by "the great trumpet." 



PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION* 57 

2, The objects of the Gospel are great. 
• The Gospel especially and immediately regards the souls of 
mankind, — the only objects morally great in the world. The re- 
gards of the Gospel do not, indeed, altogether pass by unnoticed 
•the bodies of mankind; since it distinctly promises their future 
resurrection and their final transformation: but notwithstanding 
this, still the fact remains, that the souls of man are the direct 
and immediate objects of the Gospel; because the souls of man- 
kind are the actual recipients of its blood-bought blessings; they 
are the immediate subjects of its saving operations; they also are 
the special residences of its indwelling spirit. Now these souls, 
which are thus indicated to be the select and immediate objects of 
the Gospel, are, without controversy, transcendently great. — The 
true greatness of man, the noblest of God's works on earth, con- 
sists in his possessing a rational soul. This is the distinction, 
which places him at the head of this lower creation; and consti- 
tutes his crowning glory. His being is complex, compounded of 
matter and spirit. He combines two distinct, yet closely connect- 
ed parts,— the body and the soul. These constituent parts of 
man differ exceedingly, both in their natural properties, and re^. 
spective excellencies. The body, though admirable in its symme- 
try, curious in its structure, and wonderful in its mechanism; is 
evidently inferior to the soul, which pervades it, and by which it 
is animated. For matter, of which the body is formed, js not on-, 
ly in its own nature less excellent and more perishable than spirit ; 
but the very construction and temperament of the body, demon- 
stratively show, that the body, with such an organization, could 
only be intended to be subject to mind, and under its regimen, to 
serve as a subordinate. Hence, the body will only compare with 
the soul, as the casket does with the jewel it encloses; as the 
mansion does with its lordly inhabitant. It is merely a vehicle, 
fitted up for the temporary accommodation of the soul ;— no more 
than a tabernacle designed for the transitory residence of the soul ; 
and soon as its illustrious tenant forsakes its frail abode, it fails at 
once into a loathsome ruin, mouldering and crumbling away, till 
finally it returns to its native dust.— But the soul, O how superior 
its nature! Composed of the richest elements, it also is forme 4 of 
8 



58 PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 

what is indestructible. Capable of the most sublime movements, 
it is destined for eternal activity. Formed in the image of God, it 
is fitted, by its capacious faculties and the vast grasp of its moral 
feeling, to enjoy God forever. Its excellencies greatly surpass 
those of the body; while these excellencies will live on through 
all futurity, perpetuated in growing splendor, and advancing from 
perfection to higher perfections still, in a progress without end. — 
Ah! what on earth can compare with the soul? As the Creator is 
the most glorious of all beings ; — as the sun is the most splendid 
luminary among the radiant lights of heaven; — as man is the no- 
blest work of God on earth ; — so the soul of man is by far the 
most exalted part of mans' nature. It is the master-piece in the 
workmanship of the mundane creation! It is a miniature likeness 
of the divine nature! Its powers and prerogatives are a tran- 
script, in epitome, of the attributes of Godhead! It is an immor- 
tal, illimitable, ever-imposing being! — Of all the great works of 
God here below, there can be no doubt, that the souls of mankind 
are incomparably the greatest. Now these souls, which are so 
gloriously great, are immediately the objects of the Gospel, as al- 
ready shown; and truly a Gospel, having for its objects souls so 
great, must unquestionably be a great Gospel ; and may, with the 
greatest propriety, be prefigured by "the great trumpet." 

3. The design of the Gospel is great. 

The design, which the Gospel proposes to accomplish for the 
souls of mankind, is invested with a moral grandeur, that can 
hardly be expressed, or even conceived. It includes a deliver- 
ance from woe, and an exaltation to bliss, — immeasurable in ex- 
tent, as well as endless in duration, — when the present life has 
passed away; and during the present existence, — as the means 
for the attainment of these final results, — the dethronement of sin, 
and the deposition of Satans' power within the soul, by the agen- 
cy of a divine influence operating in the application of u the truth, 
as it is in Jesus." This salvation, present and eternal, is the 
grand design contemplated by the Gospel; — and who can deny, 
that this salvation is great? — great, beyond all compare? — The 
salvation of the Jews, by their deliverance from their captivity in 
Babjlon, was indeed great, and wonderful as great; but what was 



Prophetic anticipation. 59 

that, when contrasted with the salvation, which is the great design 
of the Gospel? — Theirs was only a deliverance from civil bond- 
age ; that of the Gospel, from spiritual bondage. Theirs was 
merely an escape from the tyranny of man ; that of the Gospel, 
from the usurpations of Satan. Theirs was no more than emanci- 
pation from the oppression of the body ; that of the Gospel, from 
the oppression of mind. Theirs was only freedom from a servi- 
tude, that must soon have been terminated by natural death ; that 
of the Gospel, from a thraldom of the mind, which, without the 
gracious interposition of divine mercy, must have been endless as 
futurity. Theirs was a salvation, which sent them back, only, to 
a desolated country, and to homes in ruin, and to a situation, of 
great hazard, and requiring painful toil; that of the Gospel con- 
ducts its subjects, after giving them a moral fitness for its enjoy- 
ments, away to that "land of pure delight, where saints will im- 
mortal reign"; and where they have, in reversion, an inheritance 
incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in 
heaven. Great as was the salvation of the Israelites from their 
captivity, how obvious it is, that the salvation of the Gospel is, im- 
mensely, and beyond all comparison, greater! yes! — of all 
great salvations, this is, in every aspect, by far the greatest! — 
What w r onder that Angels, who are so capable of appreciating 
aught of moral worth, according to its true importance, should 
feel such intensity of interest in the accomplishment of this mag- 
nificent design of the Gospel! It is, by no means, surprising, 
that these spirits of light and of love, capable as they are, of com- 
prehending the boundless relations of things, should have all their 
joyous feelings stirred up, and should break out into new and more 
enthusiastic rejoicings, when the Gospel realizes its great design 
in the salvation of the converted sinner. No! no! Angels see noth- 
ing so impressive, and nothing so attractive in the whole universe 
as the subject of that regenerating "grace, that bringeth salvation." 
Angels pass by all that is brilliant, or beautiful, or wonderful, in 
the creation; to look upon the relenting prodigal, as he returns 
from "the error of his way;" Angels turn away from gazing on 
flaming suns, rolling amid the immensity of space; that they may 
view the sinners' eye upturned to heaven, glistening with the tears 




6() » PftOPHETI*2 ANTICIPATION. 

of repentance! Angels quit the ravishing music of the festal harps^ 
that threw their sacred harmonies around the throne of heaven; 
that they may come down, to listen to the tremulous voice of the 
heart-broken penitent, uttering his first prayer! Angels pass over 
unheeded, all that is sublime and picturesque in the natural scene- 
ry of our world; all the splendid monuments, the gorgeous pala- 
cesj and the solemn temples, which human art has reared ; that 
that they may drop around the conscience-stricken penitent smi- 
ting upon his breast at the footstool of mercy! Angels, as they 
wing their way, on errands of love, around our globe, — call not at 
the golden palaces, where royalty revels in luxury, and dazzling 
pomp j nor do they stay to admire the showy pageant, where the 
hero, on his prancing war-horse, leads on the glittering proces- 
sion; neither do they turn aside to solace themselves with the 
strains of eloquence, or to sympathize in the decisions and decrees 
'of national councils, where mighty men and men of renown have 
their glorifications: — but rushing past all these, and leaving them 
all behind, as less in their estimation, and as if barren, to them, 
of attractions; — Angels, pausing in their flight, poise their flutter- 
ing pinions, hovering with bursting delight over the more illustri- 
ous and entrancing scene, where the new-born soul, "begotten 
again to a lively hope," is reiterating its glory shouts, in the con- 
scious experience of personal salvation! yes, "there is joy in 
the presence of the angels over one sinner that repenteth" ! An- 
gels themselves then, being the judges, the design of the Gospel 
must be great. — If angels who are so much higher in rank, and 
wiser in thought, than we are, see enough in the design of the Gos- 
pel to inspire them with unusual joy; there can be no question, 
that the design is great indeed; and a Gospel whose design is so 
evidently great, must, without doubt, be a great Gospel, which has 
its proper representation in "the great trumpet." 

4. The promises of the gospel are great. 

These promises are exceeding great, both as to the number of 
blessings, to which they refer; and as to the magnitude of these 
blessings in their individual extent; and likewise as to the multi- 
tude of persons, to whom these blessings are offered. Such is the 
apostolic description of gospel promises. "Whereby," says Peter, 






Prophetic anticipation. 61 



*'are given to us exceeding great and precious promises." As a 
specimen of "the exceeding greatness" of the promises of the 
gospel, let two examples suffice. Here is one of these promises: — 
"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the 
heart of man to conceive the things that God hath prepared for 
them that love him." Is not this "exceeding great," as well as a 
precious promise ?— Here again is another like unto it: — "All things 
are yours: whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or 
life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 
and ye are Christs', and Christ is God's." Now what can be ad- 
ded to these two "precious promises" to increase their "exceeding 
greatness"? Here is more than "the eye" has surveyed within- 
the range of vision; — more than "the mind" has conceived in the 
boldest flights of its great imaginings; — all, and more, than man 
can do by his best exertions in the most benevolent of operations; 
— all, and more than earth can afford in the happiest seasons of 
the last and fullest dispensation of Religion; — all that futurity in 
its eternal rounds of bliss and blessings can accumulate upon the 
denizens of redemption; — nay, all which, the Christ of God, in 
all his infinite and unending fulness, has in possession; — all this is 
included in these two promises! What more could be added to 
them? It would be impossible to mention aught besides, that 
could really contribute to make these two promises at all greater! 
If then the promises of the gospel be so exceeding great, it is plain 
the gospel itself cannot be otherwise than great; and a gospel so 
great, most assuredly, is appropriately described, when exhibited 
under the emblem of "the great trumpet." 

Every view of this subject we take then, brings us to one and 
the same conclusion. • Whether we glance at the Author, the ob- 
jects, the design, or the promises of the gospel, we are compelled 
to admit its greatness; and consequently are convinced of the pro- 
priety of its representation, under the significant metaphor of the 
"great trumpet." — 

The next expression of this prophecy brings its to consider, 

III. The dispensation of the gospel. 

The intelligence of this great salvation, which the God of love 
has sent down to us from heaven, is, not to be hoarded, but is to. 



62 PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 

be dispensed; — is not to be laid up in concealment, but is to be 
published abroad to the whole family of man. This "great gos- 
pel" must be preached — "the great trumpet" must "be blown"! 
Otherwise it would be given in vain. For of what use is a trum- 
pet unless it be blown? The design of its construction is, that it 
may be used to give certain, distinct musical sounds. It is made, 
— not merely to be shut up in a case, as a treasured curiosity; — 
not to be hung suspended against the wall, as a picturesque orna- 
ment; — not to be stored away in some dark recess, as a precious 
relic, without any practical utility; — no, — but to be sounded! The 
trumpet is designed to "be blown." And is not the reasoning of 
the Apostle, precisely the same in effect, upon the intended use of 
the divine communication contained in the gospel? Why were the 
good tidings of salvation given by God, if they were not meant to 
be sounded out to the ends of the earth? "For how shall they be- 
lieve in him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they 
hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they 
be sent" by divine authority, to make known the character and 
mission of the Redeemer among men? "For it hath pleased God 
by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe"! The 
Gospel of the grace of God must therefore be dispensed, by preach- 
ing its "good tidings of great joy" unto all people. 

The Savior himself exemplified this fact in his own personal 
ministry. He took the lead in preaching the gospel to mankind. 
During his stay on earth, various were the important services, 
which he rendered to our fallen race. He set before men, a per- 
fect holy example; he wrought signs and wonders in many mirac- 
ulous cures, and in the resurrection of many that were dead; he 
became our atoning priest, as well as our expiatory victim, by "of- 
fering himself" a sacrifice for our sins:— all this he did for men; 
but he did more than this; "for he came and preached peace to 
them that were afar off, and to them that were nigh." Nor did he 
let preaching fall into disuse when, having fulfilled his personal 
ministry, he left the scene of his labors below, for a seat at the 
right hand of the majesty on high. In his triumphant ascension 
into glory, he provided for the uninterrupted perpetuity of the prac- 
tice to the end of time. For "when he ascended up on high, and 



PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 63 

gave gifts unto men," preaching was one of the principal, and the 
most pre-eminent of these gifts. The Apostle declares, "He gave 
some Apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists; and 
some pastors, and teachers; — for the work of the ministry." Fur- 
nished with these divine gifts, and deriving from them a divine call 
to evangelize their fellow beings, the disciples of Christ went out 
into all the world, preaching to Jews and Gentiles every where 
"the unsearchable riches of Christ." — 

The practice has evidently received a divine sanction in its con- 
stant success. All the great triumphs of Christianity, have resul- 
ted from the preaching of the gospel. By this, the christian re- 
ligion, at the very outset, was diffused throughout the civilized 
world, within the first century of the christian era. By preaching, 
primitive Christianity, was restored in its original simplicity and 
spirituality, from the gross desecrations, and deep degradation of 
popish superstition, in the reformation begun by Luther. By 
preaching, the revival of practical godliness and scripture holiness 
was effected in Great Britain and Ireland, in the day of Wesley 
and Whitfield. It is preaching, that has given the light of truth 
so wide a spread, and the influence of religion so extended a reign 
in this highly favored country, where our own happy lot is now 
cast. To this is to be attributed, the cheering progress of chris^ 
tianity in Pagan lands at the present day. And by preaching, 
principally, the whole world will at length be brought to know the 
Lord. The gospel therefore must be preached, — -the "great trum- 
pet" should "be blown." 

A question very naturally arises here: — who is to blow this great 
trumpet? — Who is to preach this great gospel? — On the authority 
of Scripture we reply; — men in preference to angels; — converted 
men in opposition to unconverted men; — are to preach the gospel. 

Men in preference to angels, are to blow the gospel trumpet.—^ 
This is a distinctive trait of the present dispensation of religion.— *> 
The christian economy derives one of its marked peculiarities from 
preferring "men of like passions with ourselves" rather than an- 
gels, to promulgate its gracious truths. In this preference, it ex- 
hibits a complete contrast to the preceding economy of the law.— 
The ministry of angels was made indispensable for the establish* 



64 PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION, 

merit of the legal economy. "The law," — .we are informed by 
the apostle Paul,-— "was ordained by angels in the hand of a medi- 
ator." — At the giving of the moral law on Mount Sinai, when 
"the law was ordained," the ministrations of angels were called in 
requisition, to conduct the grand solemnity; though we are not 
precisely informed in what manner, or in what particular exercises 
they were employed. In the absence of all historic details, how-* 
ever, we are not forbid to conjecture; and there is no difficulty in 
conceiving what were the particular employments of angels at the 
introduction of the Law; or how much they contributed by their 
ministerial services, to its formal ordination. One angel, probably 
produced "the darkness," which covered the mount. Another 
angel, it may be, wielded "the tempest," that swept over the wil- 
derness. Possibly, a third angel rolled "the thunders," as they 
waxed louder and louder. A fourth angel may have heaved the 
earth when it shook, convulsed with "an earthquake." A fifth an- 
gel may have engraved the decalogue on the two stone tablets. — 
While "the thousands on thousands of angels," then present, and 
not otherwise employed, might serve for the purpose of solemn 
state. If these were the facts at the giving of the law, we at once 
must perceive, that the ministry of angels was a prominent and 
discriminating feature of the great occasion, when "the law was 
ordained." The ministry of the gospel, however, has been con- 
ferred upon another order of beings, inferior to angels in rank,, but 
more suitable than they for the work. After making the statement 
just quoted, that "the law was ordained by angels;" — the Aposjtle 
adds: — "But unto the angels he hath not put in subjection the 
world to come, whereof we speak." The gospel economy, which 
he denominates "the world to come," — more literally "the future 
age," we are assured by him, is not entrusted to the agency of an- 
gels, in the same way as was the law; but as this is a new econo- 
my, its ministers, by way of preference, are selected from another 
class of agents; men being chosen, as more congenial, and better 
adapted, to convey its tidings of love and mercy, to mankind. — 
"We have this treasure," it is affirmed, "in earthen vessels."— 
How wise, and how kind, is this arrangement, in its influence up- 
on us, to whom the gospel is sent! Who does not perceive that if 



PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 65 

angels had been appointed to the ministry of the evangelical econ-* 
omy and had received an exclusive commission to dispense to us 
the tidings of salvation, we should thereby have been subjected to 
many disadvantages, and to much inconvenience? Their great- 
ness would have overwhelmed us. We should have been conn 
pletely confounded and paralyzed with their dazzling splendor. — ( 
Nor could angels have condescended sufficiently to our state and 
capacities. Our limited and disordered faculties could not have 
comprehended their vast and glowing communications.— Neither 
could angels have spoken to us from experience. They can know 
nothing of godly sorrow for sin; of faith in Christ for the pardon 
of guilt; of the renewing of the Holy Ghost for the sanctification 
of a sinful nature; or of the phases and fightings, — the difficulties 
doubts, and trials, incident to the christians spiritual warfare. Ben 
sides, on all other subjects, which belong to "the ministry of rec-? 
onciliation,"' their conceptions would have been too large and too 
lofty, to be realized by intellects, so feeble and grovelling as ours. 
Angels might indeed have delivered discourses of more exalted el-. 
oquence, and of more elevated ideas, than are to be found in the 
best of human compositions; but then such discourses would have 
been to us, "dark with excessive delight," being sublime to ambi^ 
guity. It therefore affords us motives for congratulation and thank-, 
fulness that men, instead of angels, are to preach to us the gospel^ 
But we advance a second position.-^- 

Converted men, in opposition to unconverted, are to blow the 
gospel trumpet. This is susceptible of easy illustration; and the 
materials for the elucidation are here at hand. The emblem-, 
trumpet, introduced into the text, suggests a ready explanation. — . 
Is it not a notorious fact, that no one can properly sound the trum-s 
pet, unless he has been first instructed in the art of its manager 
ment? He must first be taught scientifically how it is to be used, 
before he can make the trumpet produce its proper tones, or give 
out regular musical notes. It is true that without any teaching,, 
and while entirely ignorant of the art of its right management, any 
person may make a trumpet sound; but it will be a harsh, disso- 
nant sound; — very unlike the proper music of the trumpet; nay it 
will be the very mockery of music: and as it will, \n such a case* 



66 PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 

have nothing really musical; so there will be no distinction of 
sounds, by which may be ascertained what is intended to be ex- 
pressed. "For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall 
prepare himself for the battle ?" It is precisely so in the treatment 
of the gospel trumpet. No one can efficiently preach the gospel 
unless he has previously been taught "the truth, as it is in Jesus" 
by personal, heartfelt experience. He must first learn, — by an 
experimental acquaintance with its saving influence within himself 
— "to know the joyful sound," before he can rightly and success- 
fully impart its jubilant strains to others. The love of God must 
first be shed abroad in his own heart; before his commendations of 
its blessedness will have an energy sufficient to move the hearts of 
his fellow beings to open for its entrance within them. True, as in 
the case of the uninstructed performer upon the trumpet, — a per- 
son, while still a stranger to the experience of religion, may loud- 
ly harangue a public audience from sabbath to sabbath; and may 
discourse large and long, upon the doctrines and duties of Chris- 
tianity: but with what eftect upon his hearers? — Alas! being unin- 
structed, he only "gives an uncertain sound," and therefore none 
"prepare themselves!" In general his preaching will only be like 
cold moonshine on colder ice! It will produce little else than 
drowsy indiflerency, empty speculation, or hardness of heart; 
perhaps at length downright scepticism. At least the preaching 
of such a preacher will have a vastly different effect from the 
words, — the fervid, electric, quickening words of "the man of 
God," who, versed in the life and power of godliness, pours forth 
from the gospel trumpet such soul-stirring strains, as rouse up the 
sinner at once, to a fearful sense of his peril; and spirit him on to 
take the kingdom of heaven by storm, in the desperate determina- 
tion of a forlorn hope. Behold, such is the man whom God de- 
lights to honor, in bringing many of our race into a state of grace 
here, and to an exceeding and eternal weight of glory hereafter! — 
How awfully revolting the contrast presented in the case of the ir- 
religious preacher! Do we not know, "if the blind lead the blind, 
both will fall into the ditch," and "will be 'drowned in perdition'? 
It is too a tremendous truth, doubly deep with horror, that the 
blind leader will fall undermost, and will be crushed with the 



PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 67 

weight of the damnation of those he mislead, in addition to the 
heavy load of his own personal guilt! Converted men then, in 
contradistinction from unconverted men, should alone blow "the 
great trumpet" of the gospel. 

Here another query is suggested: How — in what manner, is the 
great trumpet to be blown? 

It is, in the first place, to be blown,' — universally. "The gos- 
pel of the kingdom must be preached in every nation." "Our field 
is the world." The grand commission of our great master, con- 
tains no limitations; makes no exceptions, admits of nothing less 
than a universal application. "Go," — said Jesus, "go out into all 
the world, and preach the gospel unto every creature." As if he 
had said "go forth my worthy, blood-washed heralds; — into all the 
four quarters of the globe, go out; — into every continent and isl- 
and, of every quarter of the globe, go; — into every country, of ev- 
ery continent and island, of every quarter of the globe, go; — into 
(every section, of every country, of every continent and island, of 
the four "quarters of the globe go; — into every city, town, village, 
hamlet and vicinity, of every section, of every country, of every 
-continent and island, of every quarter of the globe, go; — into eve- 
ry habitation of every city, town, village, ^hamlet, and vicinity, of 
•every section, of every country, of every continent and island, of 
every quarter of the world, go; — unto every human being, in eve- 
ry habitation, in every city, town, village, hamlet, and vicinity, in 
every section of every country, in every continent and island, in 
every quarter of the world, go out, — go out, and pass by none, — 
go out, and tell to every creature, how great a salvation is come to 
lost mankind." Blessed commission, and boundless as blest! — 
How free, — how unlimited the range of its generous benevolence! 
— free as the light which descends on all with equal beams! — and 
diffusive as the solar warmth, which pours its genial plenitude over 
all the earth! 

Furthermore: the trumpet of the gospel is to be blown, perpet- 
ually. "The gospel of the kingdom must he preached to the end 
of time." While one sinner remains in the world; while one soul 
continues unconverted; while one individual on earth is a stranger 
to the blessed hope, and the heaven inspiring joys of religion; — till 



$8 PROPHETIC ANTicIPAtlOK. 

the last great day of the history of earth; till the last great trump 
of the archangel shall call up the world of mankind to judgment; 
— the blessed trumpet of the Gospel must be blown. 

Finally: it is to be blown — faithfully. The grace-born herald^ 
who is divinely commissioned to sound the gospel jtrumpet, has 
nothing to fear, and should allow nothing to interrupt him in the 
faithful discharge of the duties of his high calling. He is the am- 
bassador of the great King, — the elect servant of the Most High 
God, who can shield him should danger threaten; and who will 
certainly chastise him, if he betrays his trust. Neither then the 
frowns of men, — on the one hand; nor on the other hand, — the 
smiles of the world, ought to move him from a straight-forward 
course in the path of duty; seeing that no ill can betide him, 
whom fidelity to his master's cause, arms with fortitude and urges 
to perseverance; and nothing can secure impunity to him that 
basely yields. If persecution drive him into ignoble silence, his 
cowardice will reflect dishonorably upon the veracity and ability of 
his divine master, who has pledged his word, to be his defence, 
and who is infinitely able to do all he has promised. If listening 
to the syren voices of worldly w T ealth, or secular honors, or earthly 
enjoyment, — they lure him to lay aside the gospel trumpet, and to 
forsake his holy calling; — my soul, what a fearful looking for of 
judgment is his} The hour is on the advance, and its arrival is 
most sure, when the sovereign Judge will call him to account for 
his sacreligious abandonment of a duty, so sacred and so solemn; 
■and words are wanting to express the penalty, when the maledic- 
tion takes effect, "Cursed be every one that doeth the work of the 
Lord deceitfully!"— The great trumpet therefore must be blown 
fearlessly. 

Now when the gospel trump has been sounded in this manner; 
when it has been blown universally, so that every creature shall have 
heard its joyful sound; and constantly, so that every generation of 
mankind, to the end of time, shall have become acquainted with 
its good tidings; and boldly, so that all who hear, may "fear and 
turn unto the Lord with full purpose of heart;" — then the prophecy 
of the text shall have its full and final accomplishment. 



PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 



These remarks on the dispensation of the gospel prepare us, and 
lead us on, to consider the language of this prophecy, which, point 
out to us, 

IV. The objects of the gospel. 

The original condition of those, to whom the gospel brings good 
tidings, is here described; and this condition of theirs is depicted 
as wretched and dangerous in the extreme. They are said to be 
"Outcasts, and ready to perish." This is figure; — what is the 
fact? — The fact is, "We are by nature, the children of wrath;" — - 
"Without Christ, without God, without hope in the world;" — • 
"Being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from 
the covenant of promise;" "having the sentence of death in our- 
selves." — This is alas! the sad condition in which the gospel first 
finds all our fallen race. They are indeed "Outcasts" from God; 
because their "iniquities," having occasioned alienation and oppo- 
sition, "have separated betw r een them and their God." They are 
besides, "readj to perish;" because "all have sinned, so judgment 
has come upon all unto condemnation." — Be assured, my uncon- 
verted hearer, this is your true condition, until "you are born again 
by the incorruptible seed of the word of the gospel." — While you 
are pluming yourself on your good name; on your amiability of 
temper; on the generosity of your disposition; on the regularity of 
your lives; and on your reputation for propriety, industry, or so- 
briety; God's Moral Government pronounces you Outlaw, and 
your name is "Outcast!" — It matters not, how spotless your char- 
acter; how moral your conduct; how charitable your actions; how 
constant your attendance on public worship; how frequently you 
listen to sermons; how much you delight in the discussion of the 
doctrines, and duties of Christianity: — amid all your fancied secu- 
rity, induced by these considerations,-^you are a sinner; — and be- 
cause a sinner, therefore you are a rebel against God; and because 
a rebel, therefore the Divine government has put upon you a sen- 
tence of divine outlawry; and because you are thus an "Outcast," 
placed in peril of perdition by the sentence of judicial exclusion 
that is upon you, therefore, as the text describes you, — you are 
"ready to perish." — Whatever else you may be; whatever others 
may take you to be; whatever besides you may imagine yourself 



70 PR9PHETIG ANTICIPATION. 

to be; — remember this, — "An outcast ready to perish," is your 
name, — a name, which the oracles of God give you, — your name, 
which describes your real condition! — Yours is indeed a state of 
fearful risk; — "ready to perish!" Is the sheep "ready to perish" 
when in the midst of wolves? Is the wretched sailor "ready to 
perish," when sinking among the engulphing waves? Is a sick 
man "ready to perish" when gasping in the last stage of a fatal 
disease? Is the drunkard "ready to perish" when sprawling in 
dreamy slumbers on the edge of a dreadful precipice? Is the fel- 
on "ready to perish," when having been sentenced to death, he 
has been given over for execution on the morrow? — Is the man 
"ready to perish" when the murderous weapon of the assassin is at 
his breast? Are any of these, — are all of these, "ready to perish?" 
Alas! my unconverted hearer, none of these are so "ready to per- 
ish" as you are! You are much more in danger of that "death that 
never dies" than any of these are exposed to natural death! Ah! 
yes: — you are indeed "ready to perish!" — how ready, — how near, 
how narrow the chance of escape from your souls eternal ruin, 
there may be in your critical case; — is not stated; and may not be 
computed: but 0, believe me, your proximity to danger cannot in 
any degree, be exaggerated' Is not death always at hand, "ready" 
to separate soul and body? — Is not the curse of God's broken law 
always impending over you, "ready" to come upon you to the ut- 
termost? Is not Hell always open, "ready" to swallow you down, 
whenever death shall send the soul out of your body into that futu- 
rity, where the curse has its fatal consummation without further 
respite? — Can words express how nigh this concatenation of fatali- 
ties may be to its commencement in your precarious case? — And 
assured these things are so; who can say, how very ready you are to 
perish; — how imminently, exceedingly, near you are to a perpetual 
perdition; — how much nearer you are, than very nigh, to eternal 
death? — Great God! what a state of peril is that of the individual 
* 'without Christ in the world!" The distance between the sinner 
and his souls' damnation is almost as nothing, so excessively "rea- 
dy to perish" is he! 

Why now this dread detail? — Wherefore expose to your pained 
vision, your shocking condition? Why make so afflictively plain, 



PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 71 

that you are so ready to perish? — It is merely to harrow up your 
feelings? It is only to paralyze you with consternation, or to drive 
you to despair? — Quite the reverse! — Suppose not that cruelty drew 
the picture; and that you were pointed to its dark coloring and its 
startling horrors in a disposition to exult over the embarrassment of 
your oppressed thoughts. By no means! — We present to you 
your dreadful danger, that we may have the delightful task of tell- 
ing you, you are in the very situation of those to whom the joyful 
tidings of the Gospel are sent. Your condition, though bad, is 
not irremmediable ; — though dreadful, your case is not desperate. 
Though your danger ought to awake your alarm, it need not drive 
you to despair. No! no! There is hope, — good hope, — great 
hope even for you, "outcast and ready to perish" as you are. — 
The Gospel reaches to your case ; nay, its messages of love were 
all meant for you. Pregnant of danger as is your present position, 
you may yet escape "the wrath to come," through the abounding 
grace which the gospel reveals and offers to you. Wretched, ru- 
ined, perishing sinner though you be, you are just such a charac- 
ter as this prophecy declares is the gospels' own chosen object; 
the character, for whom its great salvation was provided, and to 
whom its gracious overtures are alone addressed. — "The great 
trumpet is blown; — for whom? — To whom are its tidings of salva- 
tion directed? Is it the Angels who never fell? no. The gos- 
pel trumpet has not one single note of saving grace for them. Is, 
it the people of other worlds? Its inviting calls reach not so far. 
Is it then the righteous among men? — It has nothing suited to their 
case. — For whom then is this great trumpet blown; and to whom 
are its cheering, hope-speaking strains addressed? For "Outcasts" 
from God, such as you are! — to you, and such as you, who are 
"ready to perish," is the word of this gospel salvation sent! then 
stop not your ears to the stirring sound of this "great trumpet;" 
but while it warns you to flee the wrath to come; and when it in- 
vites you to seek security in "the refuge set before you," by faith 
in the Son of God; — "come" at its call, and avail yourselves of the 
lifegiving blessings so freely offered to you. "For blessed are the 
people that know the joyful sound!" 
It remains, for us to notice, 



72 PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 

V. The attractions of the gospel. 

"They shall come." 

The tidings of the gospel, and especially the doctrine of the* 
cross, when faithfully exhibited, and properly understood, have in- 
variably obtained a control over the hearts and minds of mankind, 
and thence, over their character and conduct, which has never- 
been acquired by any other system, proposing to exercise over the 
human species a dominant sway. Unassisted by human power, 
or human policy, the simple system of the gospel has subdued pre- 
judices the most obstinate; has conquered propensities the most 
violent; has penetrated darkness the most impervious; has eradi- 
cated habits the most inveterate; while it has educed purity in the 
heart and holiness in the life of those who seemed almost past hope 
of recovery. Of what other system can this be said?— Neither the 
sublime Treatises of ancient philosophy; nor the antiquated Shas- 
ters of Budhooism; nor the specious Koran of Mahomet; nor yet 
the ethics of Greece or Rome; — none of these renowned writings,, 
with all their lofty pretensions, and imperious pedantry, ever effec- 
ted such triumphs as those of the gospel. True, these different 
schemes for human government have, each and all, had numerous 
adherents; — but how were they secured? Not by moral suasion; 
not by the unaided energy of truth; not by rational demonstration,, 
and by the influence of conviction. No; — it was something the re- 
verse of all these that gave them the ascendancy they held over 
men. Either military force, or civil power, or secular influence, 
were employed; or else their schemes themselves were so loose in 
their requirements, and promised so much that was congenial ta 
the depravity of the human heart, that they could not well be re- 
jected by men enamored of vice, and desiring plenary license for 
immoral indulgence. The truths of the gospel have had no such 
aid, and renounce all such sinister appliances; yet how superior 
the triumphs of the christian system! The mere announcement of 
the distinguishing tenets of the gospel message, — with the feeling 
it begets, and the divine influence from which its efficacious power 
is derived, — has never failed to produce a complete and abiding 
revolution, not only in the moral sentiments of mankind, but equal- 
ly in their character and in their manner of life. Hearts intrench- 



PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION, 7$ 

ed within the most obstinate prejudices, as within the strong ram- 
parts of a fortification, — prejudices, which education had formed, 
and time had strengthened, and habit had firmly established, — 
when assailed by the simple "truth as it is in Jesus;" have volun- 
tarily surrendered "captives to the law of Christ," and thencefor- 
ward have been willing subjects of its gracious control for life.— 
Individuals^ sunken in the grossest pollutions, enslaved by the vi- 
lest habits, triumphing in the most henious crimes, inimical alike 
to God and man, when brought to an acquaintance with the plain 
facts and doctrines of the Evangelic system, — have been unable 
to resist the sovereign influence of this mystery of mercy and 
goodness, but have at once turned from the evil and error of their 
ways, "serving the Lord with full purpose of heart." These are 
the moral triumphs, which have ever followed the faithful exhibi- 
tions of the saving truths of the gospel. — Nor will these triumphs 
of gospel truth be arrested for all time to come, whenever and 
wherever the tidings of salvation are proclaimed in all their ful- 
ness and freeness. Whatever the gospel has done once, it can 
and will do again. The alluring attractions of the gospel of 
Christ are still the same, and have still all their previous powers, 
to work upon the heart, and to win over the ready assent of the 
mind; and as these sweet affinities of the blessed gospel have in- 
duced men "to come," in days that are past; they can,— they 
will, prevail upon men "to come" now, and as long as time shall 
continue. The fact, that they have "come," with promptitude 
and in numbers, "flying as a cloud and as doves to their window," 
during past ages, is positive demonstration, that with the same 
preaching of the same gospel, they "shall come" — down to the 
last hour which shall wind up the dispensation of grace. Let 
"the great trumpet be blown;" and its jubilee-strains shall not 
pass for empty sounds, nor be disregarded as if they were feigned 
voices from heaven: — the joyful sound shall be heard, — it shall be 
welcomed, — it shall be answered; they, who had been "outcasts 
and were ready to perish," responding to its call, "shall come"! 
The prophecy closes with an account of, 

VI. The final results of the complete success of the gospel, 
10 



74 PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 

Having depicted the proper objects of the gospel in the deplo- 
rable condition of "outcasts, ready to perish," the prediction of 
the text concludes, with the declaration, that when in their hear- 
ing, "the great trumpet is blown, "they shall come." "Children 
of the light,"' — how do "they come?" — Is it not, with weeping and 
supplications, "they come;" — with strong cries and tears, "they 
come;" — with faintings and fears, "they come;" — with hope 
against hope, "they come;" — with repentance toward God, and 
faith in Christ Jesus, "they come." — People of God, — whence do 
"they come?" — Is it not, — from the refuges of lies wherein they had 
trusted, "they come;" — from the strong holds of Satan, where they 
had been bound, "they come;" — from sitting in darkness and the 
shadow of death, "they come;" — from the Kingdom of Satan, and 
the camp of the wicked one, "they come;" — from "the courses of 
this world," and "the slippery places" verging on the pit of per- 
dition "they come." — Servants of Christ, — when&o "they come?" 
At the sixth hour, — at the ninth, — at the eleventh hour, 'they come;' 
when "pressed out of measure," "they come;" when they feel they 
must come, or perish, 'they come;' — when they dare delay ho long- 
er, "they come." — Believers in Jesus, — to whom do "they come?" 
Ah! to whom can they come but to him, who alone hath the words of 
eternal life! — Preachers of the cross, — wherefore, — for what pur- 
pose do "they come?" — "To worship the Lord in the holy mount 
at Jerusalem!" — Here is the climax. This is the final effect, 
which results from the blowing of the gospel trumpet. When its 
inviting voices secure their object fully; — when its calls are all 
heard, and, in every respect, obeyed; then "the outcasts, who 
were ready to perish" "come, and worship the Lord in the holy 
mount at Jerusalem." 

"The holy mount" is not a literal, but is meant to be, a figura- 
tive expression. It is a metonomy, signifying the church of God. 
The church is so called, because the temple, in which the ancient 
church, composed of the Jewish nation, met for public worship, 
was built upon Mount Sion in the midst of Jerusalem. When 
those who obey the gospel call, are said to come, that they may 
worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem; — it is easily ex- 
plained by their public profession of religion, made by them on 



PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 75 

becoming members of the church. "The holy mount at Jerusa- 
lem" had its summit encircled and enclosed with a wall, which 
was named, "the middle wall of partition." Within this wall di- 
vine worship was conducted; — surrounded and shut up within this 
wall, the ancient church assembled. None but members of the 
church could pass that wall, or worship within its hallowed enclo- 
sure. It was a wall of separation, erected for the express pur- 
pose of keeping out of "the holy mount" all who w r ere not church 
members. Hence when we read, "they shall come and worship 
the Lord in the holy mount," — it is assumed, that they have now 
become members of the church; because none besides church 
members were suffered ever to be "m the mount," — much less "to 
worship in the mount." This clause of the prophecy then will 
receive its fulfilment, when "the outcasts come," for the purpose of 
taking upon themselves a public profession of religion, having first 
devoted themselves to God in their hearts, and then publicly dedi- 
cating themselves to his service by incorporation with the member- 
ship of his church. This is unquestionably an imperative duty, 
obligatory upon all. If we would receive from 'the king of saints' 
a felicitating recognition, when "he shall sit upon the throne of his 
glory" on the day of doom; — if we would not receive a dreadful 
reprobation from our frowning judge, when he appears in grandeur 
with his holy angels; we must, while on earth, make a profession 
of the religion of Christ. "For whosoever confesseth me before 
men," says Christ, "him will I confess before my father and his ho- 
ly angels: But whosoever denieth me before men, him will I de- 
ny before my father and his holy angels." Until the gospel, 
therefore, influences us "to confess the Lord Jesus," it does not 
fully secure its whole design with us. Then, and not till then, 
"the great trumpet" has received its complete response from those 
that come at its call, when "they come to worship the Lord in the 
holy mount," — the mystic mount Sion, which is "the church of 
the living God;" — "at Jerusalem," — "the heavenly Jerusalem" 
which is "the city of the living God." This public profession of 
of Christianity, by a formal participation in the christian fellow- 
ship, is the consummation which crowns the complete success of 
the preaching of the gospel. 



?6 PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION. 

To conclude — let me remind you, that another "great trumpet 
shall be blown." In k the end of time, when the economy of the 
gospel shall come to its final close, there will be heard "a shout," 
"the voice of the archangel," which shall have for an accompani- 
ment, "the trump of God." "For the trumpet shall sound and 
the dead shall be raised." 0, how different the sadly solemn 
blasts of that final trump, from the joyful sounds of the gospel 
trumpet! "The trump of God," which shall give notice of the 
end of time, and call forth the dead from their graves, w T ill publish 
no tidings of good; — will proclaim no deliverance; — will point sin- 
ners to no refuge; — will announce no Savior! As its thundering 
notes peal from mountain to mountain, and resound from valley to 
valley, — "To judgment, — to judgment to judgment each/^to judge- 
ment all!"' — will be its only call! — Are you prepared to hear that 
trumpet sound?— Are you ready "to meet the Lord in the air" as 
he descends to sit in judgment? — Can you stand at his bar without 
alarm? — Can you face his searching eye without fear? — Can you 
await his decision without dread? — "If the righteous be saved with 
difficulty, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?" — Prepare 
then for this last great trump, that shall summon you to the judg- 
ment seat of Christ: and for this purpose, listen to and obey the 
warning and winning calls of "the great trumpet" of the gospel, 
which now pours forth, in your hearing, its exciting strains. 



\ 



SERMON III. 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SAVIOR S NATIVITY, 

A CHRISTMAS DISCOURSE. 

More than eighteen centuries ago, about this season of the year, 
(according to popular belief) there happened an event, the most 
interesting and the most important, that ever occurred in the his- 
tory of time. For this event, all believers had looked forward in 
every generation from the hour of the fall: to prepare the world of 
mankind for this event, a long succession of economies, of hierar- 
chies, and of ministrations, had been instituted : and to keep up ■ 
the anticipation of this event, volume after volume of prophecy 
had been delivered, age after age, to the church of God. This 
stupendous event, in which all the. lines of the previous history of 
the moral world converged, as in a focus, from which they should 
radiate again, reaching over every locality of the human family, 
and down to the last of our race ; — was the birth of the Savior of 
the world. On this day, supposed to be the anniversary of the 
Savior's nativity, we cannot fix our thoughts upon any subjeet so 
seasonable as that of the incarnation of the Son of God; and there- 
fore a portion of Scripture, which contains the announcement of 
that event, has been selected for your meditations this morning. — 
It occurs in, 

2 Chap. Luke, verses 8, 9, 10 and 11. — "And there were in the same coun- 
try shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. 
And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord 
shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto 
them, Fear not; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be 
to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who- 
is Christ the Lord." 

A messenger from the unseen state has ever been an unwel- 
come visitor to man. Whenever an inhabitant of the celestial 



78 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

world has appeared among men, his appearance has invariably 
awakened alarm and dread. In modern times, we have a forcible 
example of this, when individuals, under an hallucination of the 
imagination, have been supposed to see apparations, or spectres ; 
which always produce horror and fear. In ancient times, when 
intercourse between this and the invisible world was more com- 
mon than at present; and angels in visible forms, frequently visit- 
ed mankind; tremor, dismay, and overwhelming apprehension, 
were always excited by these celestial visitants. For example, 
when the angel appeared to Manoah and his wife, they were im- 
mediately seized with consternation ; and they at once concluded, 
that, since they had seen Jehovah's angel, they should surely die. 
So, too, when the disciples saw Jesus walking upon the waves, 
supposing that he was a spirit, we are told, "they were sore 
afraid." — In like manner, when the angel, who was the herald of 
the Savior's birth, came to the shepherds, they were overwhelmed 
with great fear. 

There is only one way, in which we can account for this uni- 
versal consternation at the approach of a visitor from the other 
world ; and that is, by referring the discouraging emotion to the 
prompting of conscious guilt. Mankind universally have an in- 
voluntary consciousness, that they have been guilty of great offen- 
ces against God; and along with this consciousness of moral of- 
fences, there is a secret presentiment, simultaneously produced, 
that these offences merit, and must eventually bring down upon 
the perpetrators a condign punishment. Hence whenever a mes- 
senger from the world of spirits makes his appearance on earth, 
this conscious guilt of the human mind is instantly startled, and 
penetrates the offenders with a sudden apprehension that he 
comes as a minister of divine vengeance; armed with the penalties 
of provoked justice ; and commissioned to inflict deserved punish- 
ment upon them for their offensive conduct towards God. In no 
other way can we account for that terror and alarm, that human 
beings have always felt and exhibited at the appearance of angels. 
Were mankind really innocent beings; — had they no sense of 
moral guilt; — had they no secret and unavoidable presentiment of 
merited punishment ; the arrival among them, of a foreigner from 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 79 

other regions of creation, would have occasioned no uneasiness 
whatever; but would rather have called forth the pleasurable emo- 
tions of novelty and interest. It is a guilty conscience that leads 
men to fear, by making them feel conscious, that they have noth- 
ing to expect from the Divine being, in equity, but the penalties 
due to their sins. 0, when a messenger of "the King Eternal" 
has been dispatched from his throne, to visit this scene of re- 
bellion; what else could we suppose, were we not otherwise in- 
formed, but that he was sent to punish the rebels for their viola- 
tions of his law, and for their treason against his government ? If 
the oflended sovereign of the universe were to make any move- 
ment at all towards such a disaffected district of his dominions as 
our world is ; where rebellion against him is so rife, and where 
opposition to his reign has been maintained so long;' — what be- 
sides could we calculate upon, but that the movement must be a 
vindictive measure of his moral administration, in which his wrath 
should be poured out to the uttermost upon his revolted and wick- 
ed subjects? Something like this seems to have been the senti- 
ment of the affrighted shepherds, to whom the Savior's birth was 
first announced. Influenced by that sense of deserved punish- 
ment, common to all men; and adding to this, perhaps, the con- 
sciousness, that as Jews, they, with the rest of the Jewish nation, 
had, in an aggravated manner, provoked the displeasure of God; 
their guilty fears construed the mission of the herald-angel into a 
visitation of a vindictive character, sent only for the purpose of 
executing the penal inflictions of divine vengeance. "When the 
angel of the Lord came upon them ; and the glory of the Lord 
shone round about them, they were sore afraid."— Their embar- 
rassment seems to have been extreme. Taken with an awful sur- 
prise, and terror-struck under a sense of their criminality, the tu- 
mult of their agitated thoughts permitted them to see in this be- 
nevolent message-bearer of the Lord, no other than a frowning 
and fierce minister of fatal judgments ; and the blazonry of beau- 
teous light, which divine love had thrown around his person, as an 
ensign of pacific omen,— like the rainbow about the throne of rec- 
onciled Deity, — seemed to their guilt disordered vision, nothing less 
than a very "consuming fire" descending from heaven in "hot 



80 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

displeasure," to "burn to the lowest hell." — 0, how pleas- 
ing must have been their disappointment, and what a felicitous 
change must have come over their minds, when, instead of the 
harsh voice of austere authority, speaking fiercely of death and 
destruction, in accordance with their fears, — they heard the soft, 
melting tones of generous kindness, flowing musically from the 
lips of the angelic herald, gently chiding away their alarm, and 
rapidly communicating to them the joyous tidings of hope and 
blessedness ! How must they have been lost in wonder ! and how 
must their wonder have shortly run into rapture, when "the angel 
said unto them, "Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of 
great joy, which shall be to all people!" 

The scene of this hope-inspiring announcement, I conceive of, 
as exceedingly picturesque. It is vividly presented to my imagi- 
nation. I seem to realize its interesting circumstances as if pres- 
ent. Time past, and intervening space are alike annihilated by an 
immediate realization: — the natal hour of Jesus is come! — the lo- 
calities of Judea are now within view! 

It is night. The sun has long sunk behind the waves of the 
western sea. Twilight has fled. The shades of evening have 
.spread their dimness over the vales beneath, and the hills around. 
•"Heaven burns with all her stars." The din and bustle of the 
not distant city are hushed and still. The laborer has sunk to his, 
healthy repose: — the votaries of pleasure, as well as the victims 
of dissipation, sick of their soulless revelry, have laid their aching' 
heads upon an uneasy pillow. "The crowded city full" has. 
heard the last tramp of the latest loiterer in its streets; while the 
vacant fields are drinking in the distilling dews, undisturbed by 
the tread of man or animal. The cattle lie, scattering, dozing, in 
drowsy listlessness, adown the dewy meadows. The flocks recline 
in groups along the summit, and on the sides of the salubrious 
hills. Those faithful sentinels of the flock, the dogs, rest curled 
up at the feet of their waking masters. All is quiet. Not a sound 
breaks upon the stillness of night. The breezes, themselves 
asleep, disturb not with a single gust, the calm of reposing nature. 
The shepherds alone are awake, They are seated upon the 
shelves of the moss- covered rocks, that protrude from the moun- 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 81 

tain's brow. There is nothing to obstruct their view. The wide- 
spreading valley, and the slopes of the mountains are beneath 
them; and above them, without a cloud, is the star-spangled can- 
opy of heaven. Danger and disturbance seem at a distance. — 
The tranquil scene invites meditation; — and forgetting the while 
their ordinary cares, the shepherds lean upon the tops of their 
staffs, ruminating in silent and profound contemplations; — per- 
chance thinking on the lost estate of man, or else revolving in 
their secret thoughts the multiplied calamities, and probable down- 
fall of their own nation. Thus they muse on through the solemn 
night, mute, motionless, melancholy, all absorbed and oppressed 
with the sad thoughts that brooded in their souls: — when lo! sud- 
denly they are roused from their reveries, by a stream of lustrous 
light, — quick darting down from the opening heavens; and as they 
start and gaze upwards, a being, of cherub-form, brighter and 
more beautiful far than the star of the morning, descends the down 
streaming tide of glory, and alights at their feet. Overcome with 
terror at their proximity to a being so glorious, the lone watchers 
of the flocks are ready to swoon;— they can hardly avoid drop- 
ping from their seats. They tremble through every limb; — their 
grasp is unloosed, relaxed by their agitation; and their crooks fall 
from their unnerved hands. Fain would they flee, but panic has 
left them without power to rise or move. Their suspense is ex- 
treme! Their distress is complete! — when the angel, — smiling as 
angels alone can smile, — with a melody in his voice, soft, soothing 
and inspiring as the music of Heaven, — addresses them: — "Be 
not alarmed, sons of Israel,' — dismiss your dread! Your fears are 
groundless, — you have nothing to apprehend in me ! It is a broth- 
er, — not a foe — , who visits you! Mine is not a mission of male- 
diction but an embassy of mercy! I come, not to curse and to 
consume you, but to bless and to minister to you!"- "Fear not; — 
for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to 
all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a 
savior, who is Christ the Lord." 

This announcement so eminently evangelic, has lost neither its 
interest nor importance in the lapse of ages. After more than 
eighteen hundred anniversaries of the event, these words of the 

11 



82 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

herald angel, who proclaimed the Savior's nativity, present them- 
selves for our consideration, pregnant with instruction, which while 
it is profitable, is no less pleasing. They direct our thoughts sev- 
erally and consecutively to 

The messenger;' — 

The message; — 

The persons to whom the message was delivered; and 

The influences which the announcement is predicated to produce. 

I. The messenger. 

"And the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of 
the Lord shone round about them." 

In all the works of Gods' creation there is a gradation, advan- 
cing from a minuteness, which almost escapes observation, to a 
magnitude which taxes to the uttermost, thought and comprehen- 
sion. In the material w T orld, we see this gradation; — beginning 
with a particle of dust, so small as not to be seen by the naked 
eye, and ending with the mountains, whose snow-clad peaks in- 
vade the regions of the clouds, and whose ample declivities afford 
sufficient space for the residence of a whole nation. Among the 
animal creation the same graduated scale of being obtains; com- 
mencing with the animalcula or insect, which can only be dis- 
cerned by the aid of a magnifying glass; and terminating with the 
prodigious whale, like a floating island, a monstrous thing of life, 
wandering over the wild waters of the ocean; or with the huge 
mastodon, which seemed a walking, living mountain of muscles, 
flesh and bones. In the world of mind, a similar gradation from 
less to greater appears; proceeding from the new-born babe, in 
whom the mere twilight of intellect has scarcely emitted one fee- 
ble scintillation; — up through the various stages of mental ac- 
quirements in ordinary minds, — on to the god-like intellects which 
almost seem to. belong to another species, and whose reach of 
thought places them at an immense height above all around them. 
The same gradations, we have reason to believe, exists among ce- 
lestial intelligences; advancing from the ordinary angels that oc- 
cupy the lower stations of the heavenly world, — through all the 
different orders of cherubim, seraphim, "principalities, powers," 
and princedoms, — to the loftiest archangel, whose intellectual su- 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT . 83 

periority and exalted office entitle him to take place nearest to the 
throne of deity. 

To which of these celestial orders in the hierarchy of heaven, 
the messenger belonged, who announced the savior's birth, we are 
not expressly informed; but from the circumstances denoted in the 
narrative of his appearance to the shepherds, we are warranted to 
conclude, he must have been an angel of high rank, having an ex- 
alted office, and possessing a transcendant dignity. He is intro- 
duced with the title of "the angel of the Lord," — a title which 
imports, that he was "envoy extraordinary" of the Supreme Ruler, 
— a minister of heaven whose rank was so preeminent, as to per- 
mit him to be employed only in emergent and highly dignified un- 
dertakings, as special ambassador from the celestial court. We 
are further instructed that "the glory of the Lord shone round 
about them." These expressions were sufficiently insignificant to 
Jews; because they are the ordinary expressions by which they 
were wont to describe "the Shecinah," or divine splendor, that 
was the symbol of the presence of Detiy. The glory-cloud, or 
burning radiance, which appeared on Mount Sinai, and which, at 
a later period, filled "the holy of holies" in Solomon's temple, is 
always expressed by these words — "the glory of the Lord;" and 
taking the same expressions to mean the same appearance here, as 
elsewhere used in the sacred writings, we must therefore conclude 
that this illustrious herald, was, for the occasion, invested with the 
symbol of the Shechinah, being encircled with a halo of super- 
natural and divinely grand radiance, that kindled up the glowing 
light of meridian day at "the noon of night." Whether then we 
consider his title, or the gorgeous splendor of his appearance, we 
must perceive, he was no ordinary personage, who announced the 
savior's nativity; but on the contrary, that he must have been one 
super-eminent in dignity, of the highest order, and chief in office, 
among the Angels of light. 

Nor was it without design, that a messanger, of so exalted a char- 
acter, was selected to communicate to mankind the tidings of the 
birth of the babe in Bethlehem. It was no fortuituous circum- 
stance, — it did not happen by chance,— it did not so fall out from 
want of thought, or care, or consideration; that one of the very 



84 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

chief of heaven's dignitaries, — instead of a less noble, or ordinary 
ministering spirit,' — was sent to earth on this singular mission. 
No, — it was the result of deliberate design, in the exercise of that 
wisdom, w T hich instructs, as w T ell by the appointment and apparel 
of its agents, as by its revelations communicated through them. 
The very elevation of the messenger, and also the granduer of his 
appearance, w r ere intended to teach, as truely, as the tidings he had 
in charge to proclaim. The facts, now glanced at, as to the rank 
and supernal glory of the angel, impress upon us, 

The importance of this announcement of the Saviors' nativity, 
as seen in the arrangements for its communication to the world. 

TJie eagerness of divine goodness, as exhibited by his prompti- 
tude in providing for its immediate disclosure; — and. 

The philanthropy of angelic beings, as shown in the interest they 
feel in human redemption. 

1 . The arrangements for making this evangelic announcement to 
the world, clearly indicate the paramount importance of the an- 
nouncement. Of so much moment, did the Divine Being deem the 
event of the Saviors birth, and the knowledge of this event, to man- 
kind, that he gave a special commission to one of his most eminent 
ministers; and clothing him with the ensignia of his own divinity, 
dispatched him to our world, to make known the stupendous fact. 
Surely the state and pagentry of the message bearer,— as well as 
his high standing among "the principalities and powers of the 
heavenly places," — plainly indicate, that in the estimation of the 
divine sovereign, who selected him for this special sendee, and, as 
befitting its performance, prepared him with such an array of gran- 
duer, — the message, he was sent to deliver to men, must have been 
regarded as of extraordinary importance. Never was any previous 
event of time signalized by God with so singular and distinguished 
a regard. Many events had previously occurred among men, re- 
garded by them as of the highest importance, which the divine 
being suffered to transpire without the slightest notice from himself, 
and without doing any thing to acquaint mankind of their occur- 
rence. Princes, potentates, legislators, patriots, poets, philosophers, 
sages, conquerors, heroes, philanthopists, patriarches, priests, and 
prophets, had appeared in the world, whose birth-days men com- 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 85 

memorated, and whose death men celebrated; but the great Jehovah 
had never deemed it worth while to apprize the world of the ad- 
vent of any of these, nor adopted any measures to draw the atten- 
tion of men to them. Kingdoms had been won and lost; empires 
had been raised and ruined; thrones had been set up and overturn- 
ed; battles had been fought, and victories achieved; and continents 
had been colonized, and conquered: yet "the Most High never took 
the trouble to inform mankind of these events by a special embassy 
to our world; nor did he make any demonstration respecting these 
so called great events, to show he bestowed upon them any par- 
ticular attention. But when the babe is born in Bethlehem, "who 
was to be called the son of the Highest," — a messenger of princely 
dignity among "the sons of glory," is sent down to announce to 
men the event, showing that in the view of the Eternal God, that 
event was of greater moment than every other previous occurrence 
of time. So vastly important did the nativity of the incarnate son 
appear to infinite wisdom, that he did not think it more than that 
momentous event deserved, to commission an envoy extraordinary, 
.and to furnish him with a supernal equipage, to carry the intelli- 
gence immediately to man. Truely, an event, the publication of 
which was provided for in so remarkable a manner, must be of the 
highest moment, — God himself being judge. 

2. The promptitude, with which divine goodness provided for the 
announcement of the Saviors' birth, exhibits his love and kindness 
to mankind. 

There is in the benevolence of Deity a generosity which often has 
been affectingly displayed in his readiness to interpose for the relief 
of our fallen race. In the beginning, as soon as man had sinned, 
God appeared to him and promised a Savior. Immediately after 
the perpetration of the first transgression, "which brought death 
into the w T orld and all our woe,"- — a remedy was provided without 
delay, and was at once made known to the transgressors without 
the least reserve; as if the kindness of God could not refrain itself 
for a single hour, and was resolved, by a precipitate promise of 
mercy, to leave no room for despair to take place in the world. — 
The same eagerness for the happiness of man was exhibited by 
Divine Benevolence, when the manager of Bethlehem cradled the 



86 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

hope of the world. Rather than man should remain ignorant, even 
for a few hours, of the auspicious event, that gave a Redeemer to 
the world, the God of Love makes haste to send out a special mes- 
senger from his court, to publish the joyful news on earth, at the 
very time of the occurrence. As if the yearnings of his benevolent 
nature would brook no delay, — made him impatient for a disclo- 
sure, — and would not suffer him to detain from men, for one single 
moment, a knowledge of the occurrence, so big with blessings to 
them; no sooner is a Savior born, than a mighty Herald is ready, 
near the natal scene, prepared and authorized in the eagerness of 
anticipation, to divulge the blessed fact. The night was fast wear- 
ing away, and the few short watches remaining, rapidly passing 
off, — presently the day spring would appear; — the risen day would. 
soon break in upon the slumbers of a world, now wrapped in dark- 
ness and sleep, and call forth the sons of men to wakeful conscious- 
ness and busy activity: yet such was the ardour of the love and 
kindness of the Father of mercies, that he would not wait until day- 
light dawned, nor stay even till mankind were awake to receive the 
glad announcement: but as if this short delay seemed a suspense 
too long for such an emergency, he precipitately disturbed the 
brooding gloom, and startled the solemn silence, of the midnight 
hour, with the heraldry of the incarnation of "his only begotten." 
It seemed, as though he could have no rest in his spirit, until lost 
and dying men had become acquainted with "the love wherewith 
he loved them," in sending his son into the world to redeem them. 
Mankind were not left to themselves, to find out this precious fact. 
They were not permitted to remain in ignorance for many long 
years that a Redeemer had come into the world; — until he should 
enter upon his public ministry, and declare himself to be the son of 
God with power. It was not left to be proved by the final result on 
the Cross, that "he should save his people from their sins." No! 
no' At once, and without a momentary delay, the delightful dis- 
closure was made ! In all the eagerness of spontaneous kindness, 
the God of love instantly dispatched a flying express with the good 
news to man! Surely, surely, "herein the love and kindness of 
God to man appeared !" 

3. The benevolence of Angelic Beings towards the race of man- 



THE EVANGELICAL ANNOUNCEMENT. 87 

kind is displayed in the alacrity and delight with which they en- 
gaged to make known the Saviours' advent on earth. — 

Angels have ever evinced a generous sympathy for sinful man. 
Though natives of another and distant world; and fixed in an un- 
sinning state, where they are exposed to none of those pains and 
penalties, which sin has brought into this our world; they display 
as warm an interest in every thing in the scheme of human redemp- 
tion, or that contributes fo its accomplishment, as they could have 
exhibited, had they, in common with ourselves, been sinners, need- 
ing salvation; and had they had a personal concern in the saving 
work of the Great Redeemer. They appear to have had a joy as 
great, and a triumph as complete in announcing a savior for man, 
as if he had been theirs, as well as our Savior. The angelic Her- 
ald, who told the tidings of the birth of Jesus to the wondering 
Shepherds, speaks exultingly of the part assigned him to perform 
on this great occasion; intimating that he felt it to be his honor and 
his happiness to be employed to convey such joyous intelligence 
to a lost race. With a species of self complacency, he emphati- 
cally exclaims, "Behold I — I bring you the good tidings!" — as if his 
friendly feelings to mankind were gratified so fully in the perfor- 
mance of this service, thathe could count it none other than a high 
privelege, and a singular delight, to be the bearer of such good 
news to them. Nay he could scarcely get through the blessed 
tidings he had to tell, ere the swelling joys of his benevolent nature, 
rose above restraint, and broke out in loud and lofty song. — "And 
suddenly" (adds the Evangelist) "there was a multitude of the 
heavenly host with the Angel; praising God, and saying, glory to 
God in the highest, peace on earth, and good will toward man!" — 
What a display of philanthropy, the most disinterested is here, — 
from beings so remotely allied to man, and so entirely alien from a 
personal concern in the subject of their rejoicing, as are the holy 
Angels? Abruptly breaking off his tale of wonders, the Herald 
Angels bursts out into vehement, rapturous exclamations of joy and 
praise, in the fulness of his extatic delght; and ere the first stanza 
of his lofty anthem was completed, — with a swiftness more rapid 
than the sound of his song rose and reached the ear of heaven, — 
"suddenly," a legion of fellow angels, all bright and fair, leap. 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 



from their thrones in glory, and rushing away through the midnight 
gloom, drop down on Bethlehem hills, to assist, and to participate 
in his "mighty joys," — by uniting together in one grand and exul- 
tant oratorio of thanks giving. — How is this ? — What means this un- 
wonted excitement of the host of heaven ! — these shoutings of 
glory, — these songs of praise of the Angels of God ! Why should 
they sing ? He is not their Redeemer, that is born in Bethlehem. 
What should make them glad? — They have no sin, that needed for 
its atonement the Christ" of God, now made flesh. Wherefore 
should they leave heaven in such haste, and visit earth at such a 
lone place, — in such an hour of gloom? — Their own native skies 
is the world of joy, without a night, and without a shade. Ah! 
nought can explain the presence of this exulting concourse of 
heaven' sons upon earth; or account for the extacy of their great 
rejoicing, except their large and lofty love to man, that derives to 
them from, whatever promotes his present and eternal wellbeing, a 
festal luxury of surperlative delight ! Indeed it would be hard to 
determine, whether God was more eager to send, or angels more 
in haste to convey, "the good tidings" of him now brought forth 
for the work of human redemption. No doubt it was at the bid- 
ding of Jehovah they came to men with the glad news; but love to 
man made their plumes to move in swift obedience, as they wafted 
their rapid flight to earth, and the service was as much the delight 
of their heart as the demand of their Creator. If the fiat is given 
by the Supreme Sovereign, "rejoice ye heavens, for the Lord hath 
done it;" the Heavenly ones instantly reply, with a prompt and 
cordial response,' — "glory to God! — glory to God in the highest! — 
for peace on earth! — for good- will to man through the savior now 
born!" 

But from the messenger let us pass on, to investigate, 

II. This Message. 

"The Angel of the Lord" describes his message as "good tid- 
ings:" — and if the announcement of what is absolutely needed and 
-of what is peculiarly desirable be good tidings, we must admit that 
no communication imparted to man ever deserved so well the title 
as this message. Tidings from the other world had often before 
been brought to the inhabitants of the earth; but they were of a dif- 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 89 

ferent character; — they contained, — not good, but doleful and de- 
pressing intelligence. The first of these tidings spoke of distress 
and death; — "in sorrow shalt thou eat of the fruit of thy labor; dust 
thou art and unto dust shalt thou return." A succeeding message 
threatened; — "I will destroy man whom I created." The tidings, 
that came from Deity to men at Sinai, "they could not endure," 
and were such as made them "exceedingly fear and quake." But 
the tidings which this angelic messenger proclaimed to the Shep- 
herds of Bethlehem were delightfully different; — these were "good 
tidings:"- — and we repeat, — if the news of which is indispensably 
necessary and at the same time, highly congenial, be good tidings; 
every part of this message proves the complete appropriatness of 
the denomination. The singular desirableness of the character an- 
nounced, and the confirmatory incidents of his nativity, combine 
to make this the sum of all good tidings. 

1. The character announced in this message. 

Not a sovereign, — not a prince, — not a warrior, — not a lawgiver; 
not a prophet, — not . an instructor; no, — but what was infinitely 
more needed, and therefore immensely more desirable, — a Savior! — 
Every other character, that could be serviceable to men, had already 
appeared in the world; but that one indispensably necessary char- 
acter, — a Savior, — without whom all the others would have been 
ultimately useless, and mankind would have been left to perish for- 
ever, — had not, till now, appeared on earth. There had been phi- 
losophers to illumine and expand human intellect; — poets to refine 
and to sweeten human manners; — legislators to regulate and to 
rectify, by wholesome laws, human conduct; — moralists to exhibit 
in their example, and to teach by their discourses, the art of good 
living; — prophets to unveil "the secret things of God;" — priests to 
conduct the sacred services of religious worship; — and rulers to 
preside over the rights of all: — but until this happy day, no one 
had appeared in the character of a Redeemer, able and authorized, 
"to save those who were lost" through sin. This was the grand 
desideratum of a fallen world; — that which was necessary to the 
lost race of Adam more, and before all besides they could need, to 
a degree immeasurable. Mankind were sinners:-— and though phi- 
losophy might have intellectualized them, and poetry might 
13 



90 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

have civilized them, and law might have enfranchised them,, and 
rulers might have regulated them, and ethics might have reformed 
them, and prophecy might have instructed them, they must, after 
all these various services done for them, have perished in their sins 
without a Savior! A Savior was the character most indispensable ! 
A Savior was the character most desirable to man ! A Savior was 
the character which could alone consummate all other human bene- 
factions; and hence the message, which announced to the world 
that very identical character, was truly "good tidings." 

If however a Savior was the grand requisite of a lost world; the 
announcement of a Real Savior could alone be regarded as "good 
tidings." Hence we see the propriety of the Angel in stating the 
grounds, on which the babe born in Bethlehem, was assumed to 
sustain the character of a Savior: — he was — "the Christ." This- 
title signifies "annointed;" and alludes to the custom of setting 
apart individuals to public offices, by annointing them with, or 
pouring upon their heads, fragrant oil. Jesus was dedicated and 
consecrated, being selected and set apart for the work of the worlds* 
redemption, by the special and gracious purpose of the Father; and 
therefore he is named Gods' annointed, which means the same thing 
as "the Christ," and "the Christ of God," the title here employed. 
He was the very person, chosen and sent by God himself to accom- 
plish the work of human salvation; and consequently he must be a 
real Savior, — the true Messiah. "Behold my servant whom I up- 
hold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have chosen him," 
saith Jehovah. Many false Christs, pretenders to the Messiahship, 
had appeared among men, previous to this time. The Jewish na- 
tion in particular, and also the world at large, had been previously 
perplexed by a multiplicity of claims from different persons, who 
assumed to be the divinely commissioned deliverers of the lost 
world; and while continually assailed from different quarters with 
theory "Lo! here is Christ" and "Lo! there is Christ," — men 
were at a loss how to decide, or where to fix their preference. To 
remove therefore all doubt respecting the reality of the character 
of Jesus as a Savior, the Angel Messenger asserted, that He was 
"the Christ." He was no fictitious character;- — He was no false 
Messiah; — He had not assumed a title to which he had no rightful 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMNT. 91 

'claim;-—- He had not surreptitiously undertaken a work, which did 
not properly belong to him; but He was the very person, whom 
God had appointed and qualified for the work, and had now brought 
into the world for its actual accomplishment. Hitherto there had 
been "many Christs" by fraudulent assumption; but the child now 
brought for in Bethlehem was "the Christ," chosen and consecrated 
by God himself to be a Savior. The genuiness of the character 
announced, undoubtedly rendered the tidings of his entry among 
men "good tidings." 

To constitute this message completely and entirely good tidings, 
another item was essentially necessary in the character announced 
as a Savior; — He must be capable and competent, possessing, in 
and of himself, an ability adequate to the exigences and extent of 
the work he had to perform. This attribute, so essential to the 
character of a Savior, is declared, by the Angel, to belong to him 
now born in Bethlehem. He is announced not only as "the Christ," 
but as "the Lord," — a title answering to that which the prophet 
Isaiah gives to him, who was to be born of a virgin, and who was 
to be called "the Mighty God." It is a litteral translation of the 
Hebrew word "Jehovah;" and implies, that in the Savior now 
brought forth in Bethlehem, "all the fulness of the Godhead bodily 
dwelt." It is synonymus with the designations given to him by the 
inspired Apostles, — "God our Savior," — "God manifest in the 
flesh," — my Lord and my God," — "the great God," even our 
Savior Jesus Christ;" — all which, as well as the terms in the text, 
exhibit him, as infinite, self-existent, and independent Deity. Such 
a character, — that is, a character essentially divine, was alone 
competent to become the Savior of men. The grand and most es- 
sential part of the work of a Savior was to make an atonement for 
sin, by the voluntary and independent offering of himself as a 
self-devoted victim. If the sacrifice required were made at all, it 
must be made, not only as a free-will offering; but as an offering, 
which was not due, and could not be claimed on his own account. 
The Savior must not only be free from sin himself, so as to need no 
atonement for his own personal demerit; but after the whole was 
discharged, oweing personally by himself, he must have enough 
of worth and merit to spare, which he did not need for meeting his 



92 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

own liabilities, to offer freely for the sins of mankind, Now this 
overplus of worth and merit, requisite for the atonement of human 
transgression, could alone be found in a being that w T as self exis- 
tent and independent. A being who derives his existence from 
another, necessarily owes all that he can do to that other being, as 
the absolute proprietor of his person and all his powers; and there- 
fore such a derived being cannot have to offer more than can be 
legally claimed of right. A being that depends upon another for 
every thing he is or has, must be indebted to that other being, to 
the full amount of all that all his powers can accomplish for him; 
and consequently wiien such a dependent being has done all, he 
has only done what it was his duty to do; and can be and do noth- 
ing more than what in strict justice, he is bound to, and may be 
rightfully and directly demanded of him. To provide a proper 
fund of worth and merit, available for others, and not needed for the 
personal dues of the party who provides them, there was a moral 
necessity that the character should be Divine. Such a character 
alone could possess an excess of excellencies, that were not due, 
and perform a supererogation of works that were not debts. Being 
self existent, he would owe nothing for his creation; and therefore 
all his powers would be completely free for the use of others: — 
being independent because of his being uncreated, he would be 
under no obligation to a superior; and therefore all he could do or 
deserve, would be at his own uncontrolled disposal, to be placed to 
the account of others at his option. As a Divine character thus 
would have all his own merit to himself and all the works, he could 
do, would be his own; — on which no demand could be made, and 
for which no claim could be preferred; — he would be able to furnish 
meritorious works and independent excellencies for the benefit and 
use, and on the behoof of others: and as such a provision of worth 
and works of righteousness, unclaimed and unclaimable, were in- 
dispensably necessary for the redemption of the world, none other 
than a Divine character, who alone was able to make such an in- 
dependent provision of these essential requisites, was proper on 
suitable to become the Savior of men. This was in fact, the char- 
acter of the Savior now born. He was the "the Lord," — who, 
because "he had life in himself," belonged to no one,— -was abso- 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 93 

3ute proprietor of himself, — was free and independent of every one; 
and therefore could "give himself," and "lay down his own life 
himself," for the salvation of the world! how it enhanced the 
preciousness of the Angelic message, and consummated the joy it 
inspired, when the Savior announced, was declared to be divine. 
Human energies and efforts, in all their combinations and with all 
their exertions, were utterly powerless for the exigencies in the ex- 
treme case of lost mankind. An angels' powers were totally inade- 
quate to raise a ruined world. Gabriel himself, first of the first 
born of heaven, highest and mightiest among the lofty "powers of 
the heavenly places," would have broken down, entirely outmatch- 
ed and overpowered, with the enormous load of human guilt, which, 
in his own person, the Atoner must bear away. But when the 
Savior announced is proclaimed to be "the Lord," we exult in the 
vital fact, which makes us certain, that "He is Almighty to save!" 

If however the character, in which the Savior was announced, 
was good news to man, so were, 

2. The circumstances of his nativity. 

All the circumstances of the Savior's birth served to identify and 
to confirm the authenticity of his character, as the true and divine 
Messiah; and therefore they contribute to make up the full sum of 
"good tidings" in the announcement of his nativity. The fact, — 
the scene, — as well as the time,- — of his nativity are summed up in 
these "good tidings of great joy." 

1. The fact of his birth was good news. 

The Savior of Adams' fallen race, whom God had promised to 
send from the beginning of the world to dwell among men, had 
been waited for so long, that mankind had almost become weary 
in waiting for him. Prophets had long and often predicted his com- 
ing; but he did not yet appear. Priests had continually and by 
various types and shadows, prefigured him, in the pictorial repre- 
sentations of their ritual ceremonies; but still he did not come in 
the flesh. Patriarchs and princes had typified him, in their prero- 
gatives and offices; but though they wished for, they died without 
the sight of him. Promise after promise had been reiterated, that 
he should dwell among men; but him the heavens still retained. 
Altars had smoked for thousands of years, on which the flocks and 



91 THE .EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

herds of a thousand hills had been consumed, to prepare the way 
of the Lord; but still he delayed his entry on earth. The believ- 
ing expectation of the advent of the promised Messiah had been 
deferred so long, that doubt and apprehension were likely to arise, 
as to whether he would ever come at all. With what surprize then 
and delight too, must the minds of men, kept so long in suspense, 
have received the glad news, that the Savior was actually come 
into the world! The long-looked for Deliverer had at length arrived. 
The promise, so long unfulfilled as to lead to a doubt of its truth, 
was now really accomplished. Prophecy, so long a dubious vision, 
was now become a living reality. Types, emblems, and heiro- 
glyphics, so long mere things of idea, were now consummated in 
a real, sufficient, incarnate Savior. The Redeemer of man, hitherto 
existing only in the words of a promise, or in the similitude of a 
type, or in the picture of an observance, or in the poetry of a pre- 
diction, was now actually born of a woman, aud was become a 
real living person among men, as their Savior. The picture was 
now superceded by the person represented; the figure gave place 
to the fact; faith was turned to sight and hope to reality. "A Savior 
is born .'" how good the tidings! 

2. The place of his birth was good news. 

"In the city of David, a Savior is born." The pen of prophecy, 
centuries before this event, had distinctly indicated the place which 
should be honored, as the natal scene of the Savior of the world; 
that men might be furnished with a certain mark whereby they 
might determine his identity. Hence when Herod inquired of the 
Jewish priests and Scribes where the Messiah was to be born, they 
unanimously and without hesitation declared, "In Bethlehem of 
Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet. And thou Bethlehem, 
in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda; 
for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people 
Israel." In accordance with this prophecy, and the expectations 
to which it gave rise, the Savior was born in "Bethlehem, which 
was the city of David:" and by this prophetic mark, that fixed the 
place of his birth, was proved to be the true Messiah. The Angel 
mentions the place of his nativity for the purpose of making the 
assurance of the Jews doubly assured, that "this Jesus is the very 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 95 

Christ." They well knew that the true Messiah was to be "Davids' 1 
son after the flesh," — "of the house and lineage of David;" and 
therefore that the paternal city of that ancient family must be his; 
birth-place: and aware of these facts, they would have promptly 
rejected anyone pretending to be the Messiah, however well attes- 
ted in the other respects, if he had not been born in Bethlehem. 
This was one of the prophetic criteria for the recognition of the 
true Christ; and therefore they were certain, it could not be, that 
David's son could be born out of David's city. How must they 
have been gratified with the intelligence, when they were assured,, 
that in addition to every other mark of the genuineness of his 
character, he possessed this — he was "born in the city of David!" 

(3.) The time of his nativity was good news. 

"This day is born, — a Savior." 

The time of the Savior's birth had been described as "the set 
time," — the time accepted," — "the fulness of time?" — these are 
Hebraisms, or idioms of the Hebrew language, which are intend- 
ed to express maturity of preparation and seasonableness as to the 
period. This time, when it arrived, was remarkable on account 
of several concurring circumstances. It was a time of universal 
peace. War had ceased in every part of the civilized world. — 
The clang of arms, the noise of battle, the sound of the war-trum- 
pet were now hushed. The commotions and strife of nations 
were laid to rest. The mighty Captains of earth had sheathed 
their swords; their armies were disbanded, — their arms laid aside; 
and that wholesale slaughter of men, with which hostile ranks 
had deluged the earth with blood from year to year, was now ev- 
ery where entirely suspended. In imperial Rome, now mistress 
of the civilized world, and the great war-maker among the na- 
tions, the temple of Janus, always open in time of war, had now 
its every portal closed, to give public notice, that war had ceased 
in every place and among all people. How fitting this period of 
universal peace for his advent, who is "the prince of peace;" — 
whose religion was to make "peace on earth," and brought "good 
will to man!" — and how suitable the season, when nations had 
laid aside their hatred and animosities, for the God of Love to ap- 
pear "in Christ; reconciling the world unto himself!" Joyous it 



96 tv.e evangelic announcement. 

was, that there was peace over all the earth; but more joyous still 
it was, that a mediator had now appeared, who should put an end 
to the quarrel between man and his maker, and make peace be- 
tween earth and heaven! 

It was a time of great expectation. — The time of Christ's-na, 
tivity was remarkable as the time when there was a universal 
persuasion of the necessity of divine interference to save the 
race of man. All men were now convinced that the time had 
arrived, which imperiously demanded, that some divine mission 
should visit the world, to rectify the disorders of men and to lead 
them back again to true happiness. The world was now at 
a stand-still, persuaded that all the expedients which had been 
tried, or could be invented by men, were insufficient for hu- 
man salvation; and expecting, that the divine parent would inter- 
posp for the rescue of his fallen offspring, by deputing some deliv- 
erer to effectuate their restoration. During many past ages, God 
had given to men full opportunity to try to help themselves, and to 
accomplish their own deliverance from the power and consequen- 
ces of sin. "The times of this ignorance God winked at;" — he 
permitted them to have a full and fair trial of what they could do 
for themselves without a Savior, or the special interference of a di- 
vine agency; and during this extended opportunity, many expedi- 
ents were invented and tried, but they all failed. The world con- 
tinued to get worse, instead of improving, under these various ex- 
pedients: — mankind became more and more corrupt under the ve- 
ry means which were adopted for their reformation and purifica- 
tion. Paganism had a lengthy and extensive trial; but with all the 
witchery of her wild dreams, and all the gloomy rites of her bloody 
ritual, crime under her reign, threatened, not only the entire dis- 
ruption of civil society, but at length the depopulation of the 
w T hole globe. Philosophy succeeded paganism, and rose to a pitch 
of eminence not to be exceeded; but in the chief seats of the pu- 
rest philosophy, so completely did its influence fail for the moral 
restoration of degenerate humanity, that vices, the most abomina- 
ble and filthy, were perpetrated, without rebuke or attempt at con- 
cealment, amid the public gaze 3 and daily became more and more 
common and desperate. — The ceremonial dispensation of the Jews 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 97 

had a trial too; but with all its pompous observances and gorgeous 
array and daily ministrations, real religion was lost, and a dead 
formality took its place, which, if it did not engender, was at least 
tolerant of vice and crime. The conviction had been forced upon 
men, by these repeated failures, several centuries before the Sa- 
vior's nativity, that nothing could save the world from that self-de- 
struction, to which its corruptions and crimes were hurrying it on, 
but a divine deliverer. All that man could devise or do, to reclaim 
apostate humanity, had not impeded its downward progress, much 
less had they restored its pristine integrity. Repeated attempts 
had all failed; — different expedients had been entirely useless; ev- 
ery new trial to amend only left the moral condition of mankind 
worse, and getting worse. After all, the morals and happiness of 
the world, were on the descending scale; and already greatly de- 
preciated, they were in progress of a further and more rapid de- 
clension. In this dilemma, — while philosophers admitted the in- 
efhcacy of science, and moralists were compelled to acknowledge 
the inadequacy of their ethics, and the Jews saw that even their 
religious system had waxed old, so as to be feeble and without en- 
ergy; mankind in general, — losing all confidence in every moral 
scheme, — were looking for Heaven to interfere, in an extraordina- 
ry manner, for the restoration of a lapsed world. Not tG mention 
the more equivocal operations of heathenism, — reason and philos- 
ophy had done what they could for more than four thousand years, 
but all their efforts had proved abortive in reforming mankind, and 
making them happy. The world was no better after all their la- 
bors; nay, was daily waxing worse and worse. Ignorance be- 
came more inveterate, misery increased, and wickedness, with all 
its anti-social and disorganizing tendencies, made more and more 
rapid strides every succeeding century. Baffled in their schemes, 
the mighty sons of reason were obliged to confess that nothing but 
a divine instructor could save the world. Philosophy, as it were, 
sat down confounded; and the multitudes she had bewildered, — 
not improved,' — by her speculations, hoped to receive the divine 
visitant, they so absolutely needed. Even Socrates, when on his 
way to public worship in the temple, told his disciples, they knew 
not how to perform their duties aright; and that they should wait 

13 



98 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

for a divine instructor to teach them how to behave toward God 
and man. Hence the Messiah was not only "the hope of Israel;" 
bat literally "the desire of all nations." About the time of his ad- 
vent, there was a universal expectation among men for the appear- 
ance of an extraordinary personage, who should meliorate and al- 
leviate the condition of the human race. The Grecian sage, Pla- 
to, had taught the probability of such an event; and poets sung of 
its blessedness under the figure of "the golden age." Jews and 
Gentiles were then equally in a state of eager expectancy at this 
eventful time. How completely did it fall in with these universal 
hopes of mankind; and with what increased interest, the previous 
failures of all human expedients, invested the tidings; when the 
announcement came to the world, "The deliverer is come! A Sa- 
vior is born this day!" Such tidings, at such a time, and in such 
circumstances, must have been "good tidings, indeed!" 

In pursuing the arrangement dictated by the narrative before us 
in the text, we have next to advert to, 

III. The persons to whom the message was delivered. 

How greatly the ways of God transcend the thoughts of man. — 
When an illustrious messenger was to be despatched to our world, 
with important tidings from the Sovereign of the Universe, one 
would have supposed, that he would have been directed, to deliver 
his message to the noble, the mighty, or the renowned of the 
earth; and to select for the place of his reception and audience, 
some sumptuous and celebrated edifice, — a temple, sculptured and 
decorated with all the riches of art; — or a pavilion where grandeur 
had its abode, radiant with gems and gold,' — or else the capitol 
where imperial councils sat in solemn state, balancing the affairs 
of nations. But "God's ways are not as our ways!" When the 
great message-bearer of "the blessed and only potentate" reached 
our world, he passed by the great and the grand, and paid court 
to the humblest of earth's sons! Princes were reposing in their 
gorgeous palaces, upon their couches of silk and down, encircled 
with the glare of regal magnificence; but the angel stopped not to 
enter the chambers of royalty, nor to communicate with the august 
personages of crowned heads. Philosophers were poring over the 
learned tomes in the solitary retreats of literature; or eloquently 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 



expatiating on lofty themes, in the porticoes of learning; but the 
angel passed by all the renowned halls of science, and temples of 
classic lore; nor did he deign to speak one syllable of his precious 
tidings to the celebrated men of science. Priests were in the tem- 
ple of the city of God, guarding its sacred fire and watching its 
ever-burning lights through the courses of the night: but the an- 
gel turned not aside to look upon that "high and holy place," so 
glorious to behold; nor did he arrest for one moment his flight, to 
impart to the anointed sons of Aaron the object of his embassy to 
our world. Almost within view from Bethlehem, upon the conse- 
crated "heights of Zion," stood the High priest's palace, the state- 
ly residence of the chief of the Jewish hierarchy, to whom per- 
tained all the honors and prerogatives, — the robes and regalia, — 
"the urim and thummim," the embroidered ephod,the golden girdle 
the jewel-crested mitre, that had, from Aaron to him, descended 
through a long succession of sacerdotal princes: but the angel lin- 
gered not within these sacred precincts; nor in passing by, did he 
drop one item of his glad intelligence, into the wakeful ear of the 
sovereign priest. No! He hied his way to the rugged and retired 
mountains of Judea, — where the sons of poverty and toil, silent 
and solitary woke the livelong night to guard their fleecy care; and 
to these lowly, simple, and illiterate shepherds, told the w T ondrous 
story of the Savior's birth! Hail, honored poverty! Ennobled 
rusticity, all hail! God's nobility are you, ye night-watchers of 
the flock! Upon you, above all others of the race of man, the 
great, eternal God put honor, by making you the recipients of a 
message, the most momentous ever sent to men! Clad, as ye 
were, ye humble shepherds, in coarsest garb; — penury your lot; — 
obscure and almost unknown to the busy world; — and while fulfil- 
ling your simple, solitary occupation, upon your bare and moun- 
tain pastures; — yours was a God-sent distinction, which princes 
and potentates might have coveted; but which was denied the wise, 
the noble, and the sceptred sovereigns among men! 

How shall we refrain from wonder at a preference so unlikely, 
— a preference, that passing by all those whom men delight to 
honor, fixedupon these obscure, rustic Shepherds to be the receiv- 
ers of the all-important communication from the Messenger of 



100 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

Heaven! — And how shall we explain this preference so as to justify 
the ways of God to man! Was it an arbitrary act of the Great Su- 
preme, — without reason, and incapable of explanation, — that sent 
the Angel to these Shepherds, with the announcement of the Sa- 
viors' nativity? — By no means! The narrative of the Evangelist 
indeed assigns no reasons; but in the absence of express statements, 
may we not be allowed to suggest some considerations, which may 
have determined the Divine choice in the selection of these indivi- 
duals for this high distinction? — May we not presume, that compe- 
tency, — fitness, — and significancy, were, among others, the con- 
siderations, which influenced the Divine Being to select these Shep- 
herds to receive the message of the Saviors' birth? 

1. Were they not the most competent persons to receive this 
message ? 

It was intended that these "good tidings" should go abroad in- 
to all the world, to be published "to all people." That "these ti- 
dings" might be received by mankind w T ith confidence, and a 
sense of their vast importance, it was necessary, that the exalted 
character of the Messenger, and the peculiar circumstances in 
which the tidings were first communicated on earth, should also be 
made known, whenever and wherever the tidings were told. — 
Hence the credibility of those, who should be the first among men 
to receive the great message must have been a primary consider- 
ation in the selection made. They must be persons that could 
command the confidence of their fellow beings, when testifying of 
what they had heard and seen on the occasion. It was indispen- 
sable, in their case, that they should be, not only persons, whose 
credit for veracity was above suspicion; but also persons least lia- 
ble to mistake, and not likely to be led into a misstatement from 
misapprehension. Now these shepherds seem to answer to this 
description. Their innocent, artless, and humble occupation 
seems to vouch for them, that they were honest men, unused to 
fraud or falsehood, and incapable of imposture. Though probably 
all illiterate, and it may be, little acquainted with the world of 
mankind, they appear to have been men of good common sense; 
not apt to be carried away, either with the wilderings of the imag- 
ination, or with sensible illusions. Indeed so remote were they 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 10 1 

from credulity, or that temper of mind that takes things on trust at 
first sight, that although their eyes could not well deceive them, 
when they looked upon the light from heaven, and the Angels form 
as he stood with them face to face; nor could their ears easily mis- 
take other and uncertain sounds for distinct articulate words; yet 
so cautious were they in giving credence to what seemed so credi- 
ble; that they could not be fully satisfied, until they had actually 
seen with their own eyes the Savior now announced. "They said 
one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this 
thing which is come to pass." — This recorded fact plainly shows, 
that they belonged to that class of men, careful, cool, and sensible, 
who have obtained the name of "Matter of fact men;" — men 
whose testimony, in any court is allowed to have the greatest 
weight. Their supposed illiteracy, and the humbleness of their 
calling, would rather strengthen than impair the credibility of their 
testimony. Error, spiritual as well as secular, has originated more 
frequently w T ith the learned and intellectual, than w T ith the ignorant 
and uncultivated. The errorisms both of science and of theology, 
which, in the present and past ages, obtained among men, were 
generally the wild offspring of talented and educated minds. — 
>Such men have often a penchant for novelties; and in their eager- 
ness to discover and to disclose "some new thing," betray an easi- 
ness of belief, which exposes them to erroneous impressions. — 
Men of talent and of learning, are, besides, given to speculation; 
and in consequence, are prone, not to receive things as they ap- 
pear, but to invest them with something hypothetical, which would 
make them what they are not. From these and other considera- 
tions, it is evident, that in testifying to a matter of fact, men of 
talent and of erudition would not be so good witnesses, as the 
plain unlettered man of sound judgement. Had this Message 
been delivered to learned man, — when they come forward to tell 
the world about all the wonderful appearances they had witnessed 
at its reception from the Angelic Messenger, — it might have been 
doubted, if they had not been imposed on by some phantasm of 
the imagination, or by some natural phenomena, which their own 
fancy had formed into an angel, and had feigned his words. — 
Dwelling in crowded cities; as literary men usually do, or shut up, 



102 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

in the retirac'y of studies, where they have little chance for making" 
observations upon the appearances of the heavens; they might have 
been supposed to have seen only the streaming of a falling star, 
magnified by the exaggeration of a heated imagination, or the ex- 
traordinary phases of the Aurora Borealis; when they thought they 
saw the Shining One come down from heaven, and the glory of the 
Lord circling round him. The Shepherds were less liable to a 
suspicion of such a misapprehension. Being accustomed to keep 
watch, night after night, in the open air, and upon the mountains' 
elevation, the phenomena of the atmosphere must, through con- 
stant observation, have been perfectly familiar to them; so that they 
could not have taken a mere meteor for the Angel, or a phosphor- 
escent appearance for the divine radiation, or any other sounds for 
the message. These, — all these phenomena of the heavens they 
had seen again and again; and knew most familiarly, previous to 
this time; and therefore they were clearly most competent to dis- 
tinguish these natural appearances from the supernatural splendor 
respecting which they had to testify. — A suspicion from another 
source might have arisen, if the message had been first delivered 
to great official characters, exalted in rank and station. In that 
case, mankind might have doubted, if the whole scene were not 
got up by collusion, for a political intrigue, to elevate the child, 
now born, to the sovereign power, first, as king of the Jews, and 
then ultimately, as Universal Monarch of mankind. Had men 
filling high civil offices been selected to announce the Angels' 
message, it is certain, they would have been charged with these, 
or some other ambitious and political design, which would have 
destroyed all confidence in the announcement! The poor Shep- 
herds, simple, artless, unambitious, — "alike unknowing and un- 
known," — could not awaken any such suspicion. The dreams of 
ambition, or the machinations of a political partizan, could never 
be supposed to possess the minds of men, so homely in their habits, 
so secluded by their occupation, from the busy world, and so poor 
in their circumstances, as were those rustic guardians of the flock. 
They must, in fact, have been above all suspicion. We cannot 
but perceive then, that on account of their good sense, their caution, 
their ikvorable situation for avoiding misconception, as well as their 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 103 

humble occupation, there were sufficient reasons for their selection 
to be the recipients of this message; because on account of each, 
and all these qualifications, they were persons most competent. 

2. Were they not the most suitable persons to receive this mes- 
sage? 

The masses of human society were especially contemplated in 
the dispensation of that religion, which the Savior, now born, was 
about to introduce among men. Hence, as the poor, — compara- 
tively so, — make up the great bulk of mankind, in eyery country, 
his ministry was to be particularly directed to the poorer class of 
the community, that division of human society, which every where 
contains the greatest numbers. Jesus came not to minister to the 
wise, the rich, the mighty, or the noble; but without positively ex- 
cluding these more elevated classes of mankind from the saving 
benefits of his Mission, he bent his special regards upon the ordin- 
ary multitude, which comprise the great aggregate of the popula- 
tion, — the undistinguished, the unlettered poor. As an unequivo- 
cal mark of his Messiahship, he sent to John the intelligence, — 
"Unto the poor the gospel is preached;" and as an example of the 
success of his ministrations in reaching their specific objects, his 
historian records, "the common people heard him gladly." When 
he exclaimed, — "How hardly shall they that have riches enter the 
kingdom of God!" — he gave an intimation, not to be misconstru- 
ed, of the speciality of his mission in its regard to the poor; nor 
could there be any hesitation as to its preference, when he avow- 
ed, "God hath chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, to be 
the heirs of the kingdom." His Apostles did but reiterate the 
sentiment so often avowed by their Lord, when they declared, 
"that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not 
many noble, are called." Now was it not in perfect keeping, and 
in every way most fitting, that the author of a religion, which was 
specially designated to dispense its light and influence and happi- 
ness to the poorer class of the human race, should be first an- 
nounced to men of that class? — If the angel had addressed himself 
to the higher class of the community, — to men of affluence, of 
exalted rank; or to persons celebrated for learning or prowess ; — 
would not such an initiatory of the religion of "the common peo- 




104 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

people" have been quite discordant with its specific designation., 
and utterly unappropriate to its popular character? What if the 
religion of the peasant had been first presented to the prince ; — if 
he, who was to be the Savior, especially of "the poor," had first 
been announced to the dignitaries of this world; — if the tidings 
which, while they were to "be unto all people," were by a deter- 
minate speciality, to make "glad," distinctively, "the common 
people," had begun to be proclaimed to men of science,, and of 
literary fame; — if he, who was to be "the friend of the despised 
"publicans" and excommunicated "sinners," had first been intro- 
duced to the exclusive, pharisaic members of the great sanhe- 
drim; — in one w:ord, if "he who became poor for our sakes" had 
selected to give audience to his herald any other parties than those 
who, because, of their want of wealth, and of their rustic employ- 
ment, were included in the poor mans' class; — who does not per- 
ceive there would have been a strange discrepancy? — surely, 
surely there was a nice appropriateness, — a fine harmony, be- 
tween the character announced, and the grade of the persons to 
whom the announcement was made, when these shepherds, the 
common sons of toil, were chosen, in preference to others, to re- 
ceive the first news of "the common Savior" of "the common 
people!" 

3. Were they not the most significant persons to receive this 
message? Was not the selection of these illiterate men, engaged 
in secular pursuits, intended to intimate, — and did not their selec- 
tion, in fact, teach the abolition of that religious exclusiveness, 
which had so long prevailed, and which the religion of him now 
brought forth in Bethlehem was designed to abolish? — Hitherto 
theological knowledege and divine communications had been held 
in a sort of monopoly by a cannonized class of priests, seers, and 
prophets. The people must seek from the priests' lips, if they 
would acquire divine knowledge; and so long as the prophet saw 
no vision, it was in vain to look for a message from God to man. — 
If the secular orders of the community desired to draw T nigh to 
God, they could do so only, by coming to the altar of sacrifice, 
and by placing their offerings in the hands of the priest: and the 
jewelled breast plate of the high priest must give its oracular inti- 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 105 

mations, before a response God could be received to the inquiries 
of the suppliant for divine direction. The time was now come 
when these sacred monopolies were to be broken down. The reli- 
gion of the new-born Savior came for the purpose of a great inno- 
vation upon the cannonized prerogatives of the sacred offices; — 
came to make a universal equality between people, priests and 
prophets, in the rights and privileges of seeking and obtaining an 
intercommunication with God and the soul. Peter, the Apostle, 
learnt, in the fact of the unrestricted and indiscriminate manner of 
the Divine manifestations under the new economy, that "God is no 
respecter of persons: but in every nation, he that feareth him and 
worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. — For whosoever shall 
call on the name of the Lord, shall be saved." What Peter was 
so slow to learn, Christ himself had long before plainly taught at 
the well of Samaria. "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain," 
said the Samaritan, but ye say that Jerusalem is the place where 
men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, believe me, the hour 
cometh yea now is, when ye shall neither worship in this mountain 
nor yet at Jerusalem; but when the true worshipper shall worship 
the Father in spirit and in truth." — Now when the Message bearer 
from the throne of the Supreme did not stop to brighten with the 
glow of his grandeur, the gem-set symbol of the Urim and Thum- 
mim, on the breast of the Hierarch of Judaism, nor lingered over the 
flames of Altars where priests, in holy vestments, stood to present 
the offerings of the people; nor yet took one turn into the prophets' 
chamber, where the hoary Seer sat to receive the divine afflatus;-— 
but discarding all these old established, but now exploded monop- 
olies of communication between heaven and earth, bent his way 
to a spot which no priesthood had hallowed, and no enchantment of 
the Seer had made uncommon ground, and alighted among a little 
lone band of care-takers of the sheep, reposing upon their mountain 
pasture: — did not the whole procedure significantly point out the 
commonness of the privileges and benefits which was to be the con- 
spicuous character of the new regimen, under the administration 
of "the child born," "upon whose shoulders the government was 
now to be?" Soon as it become noised abroad, that the Savior 
had been made known, first of all, to mere ignorant, unconsented 
14 



106 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

shepherd, immediately every thing exclusive in religion, began to 
totter to its downfall: — the priest must at once have been convin- 
ced that his time- venerated offices were gone; the head of the house 
of Aaron must have seen, that his Urim and Thummim were su- 
perceded; the prophet might now throw aside his mystic mantle, 
for the work of the Seer had been made obsolete; while the whole 
people must have been impressed with the fact, that a Religion 
was now come, — through "the mediator of a better covenant, es- 
tablished upon better promises, " — by a participation of which, 
every one, without respect of persons, might become "king and 
priest unto God and the Lamb." — Used, as the Jews were, to sym- 
bolic action, and wont, as they had been, to receive express inti- 
mations of the divine designs, by persons selected and sent to them 
in an allegory, or as types and emblems; they could not fail at 
once to seize upon this generous idea, so significantly expressed 
in the common character of the shepherds. As they were of "the 
common people," they were fitting representatives of the secular 
community, as distinct and distinguished from the officiary of the 
ecclesiastic body: and as such, their selection for the honor of giv- 
ing audience to the Herald of the Savior, was most significant of 
that levelling down of all distinctions, and that generalizing of all 
immunities, by an equal right and access, to the light unction, and 
blessedness of "the common salvation," contemplated in his im- 
partial mediation, who was to "make all one in himself," that "as 
there are many members, yet but one body, there should be no 
schism in the body." 

It now remains for us to notice, 

IV. The influence which the announcement, made to the 
shepherds of Bethlehem, is predicated to produce. 

"Great joy, which shall be to all people." 

It is suggested, by an obvious implication, that this announcement 
should go abroad, beyond the limited confines of the land of Judea 
and surviving for an indefinite period after "the men of that genera- 
tion," should be republished in every country, during every age of 
the world. During the progress of the universal and perpetual pro- 
mulgation of these "good tidings," the Angel, in "the confidence of 
certain anticipation, asserts, that whenever or wherever, they meet 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 107 

with a cordial reception, and a proper appreciation, they will inva- 
riably and without a solitary exception, have a felicitious influence, 
producing "great joy to all people." The nature of this influence 
then, — its degree, — and also its universality, — will each call for a 
passing notice. 

Consider the influence of the announcement. 

1. In its nature. 

The appropriate effects, which these "good tidings" are calcula- 
ted to produce, and which they have always actually produced in 
those, who have received them with a suitable state of mind and 
heart, are emotions of spiritual "joy." To the individuals, who 
embrace them with a cordial assent of the whole soul, they must 
secure, — they ever have secured, — more than the cool and calm 
complacency of mere satisfaction; — still more than even the high- 
er and warmer emotions of gratification; — yes, nothing short of a 
lively, living u joy" which is the highest degree in the scale of hu- 
man enjoyment. — It is — it must be so: because this announce- 
ment aflords the only real relief to the apprehensions of human 
guilt, while it fully meets one of the most pressing necessities of 
our moral nature. 

There is now, — and there ever has been, in the minds of man- 
kind a secret dread arising from a consciousness of guilt. It is 
not merely the offspring of the teachings of Christianity; but — ex- 
isting universally in all those who dwell amid the light of revealed 
truth,' — the same disturbing emotion, was equally prevalent among 
all those, who lived in all past ages, without the knowledge of the 
disclosures of divine revelation, and is now as common among 
those who are still involved in the unillumined gloom and unbro- 
ken shadows of Paganism. In no other way can we satisfactorily 
account for the universal prevalence of sacrifices. In all coun- 
tries, near and remote, — among all people, civilized and savage,- — 
in all times, ancient and modern, — offerings of different kinds, for 
the purpose of propitiation have been constantly presented, either 
to the true God, or to imaginary deities. But why offer sacrifices, 
if there were no sense of sin? Why seek to propitiate, if there 
were no consciousness of having offended? Why do any thing for 
the purpose of averting suffering, if punishment were not appre- 



108 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

hended? — The only reason we can possibly assign for a practice^ 
which, though universal, is undoubtedly unnatural, — that of offer- 
ing sacrifices of a propitiatory nature, — is by referring, not only 
the origin but also the continuance of the practice, to a secret 
sense of guilt in all men, which causes them to apprehend as its 
necessary consequence, future and painful punishments from the 
being, who has in his power the proper awards of human conduct. 
Considering then the universality of this distressing emotion, which 
conscious guilt has implanted in the human bosom, embittering all 
its private thoughts, and all its secret movements,— what can be 
so desirable to any and to every one, as the announcement that a 
Savior had come, who, by the sacrifice of himself, can avert from 
men the penalties due to their guilt? Such an announcement is 
the only thing that could truly relieve mankind from the secret an- 
guish of their guilty fears. What besides could do this? — All 
their sacrifices, however costly, and however numerous, w r ere evi- 
dently not sufficient. The offerers never were and never could 
have been themselves satisfied with such sacrifices, so as to feel 
fully released from all further dread of final punishment. After a 
thousand sacrifices, offered at a great expense and in the most ap- 
proved manner, still they must have felt, — nay, by their own show- 
ing they did actually feel themselves disturbed with a secret ap- 
prehension, that their offences might bring upon them suffering 
and pain in the end. It was obviously "impossible that the blood 
of bulls, of goats, or the ashes of an heifer should take away sin" 
so "that there should be no more conscience of sin." "Will the 
Lord be placated with thousands of rams, or be satisfied with ten 
thousand rivers of oil?" "Were man to offer the fruit of his bo- 
dy" — his darling, his only child, — would it avail "for the sin of 
his own soul?" — No! no! — nothing that he has, or could procure 
for a sin-offering would satisfy his own conscience, much less the 
deity. He might have made the Alps or the Andes his altar, and 
have set on fire the almost immeasurable forests which cover their 
immense declivities, and upon this vast mountain altar, — in the 
prodigious flame of this sublime sacrificial pyre, he might have 
consumed the cattle from a thousand hills, for one "whole burnt- 
offering:" but all in vain! After all, — with his stupendous obla- 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT* 109 

tion completed; while the ashes of his offered victims remained in 
one enormous pile, rising up to the very heavens; and while the 
smoke of his burnt offering hung in thick, towering masses reach- 
ing midway to the sun, and shutting up the light of day in their 
dense, dark foldings; his sins would have remained still, — unato- 
ned before God, and working still in his own mind that "fear 
which bringeth torment!" Yes! yes! a sacrifice of richer worth, 
and of more plenary power to atone was needed! Indeed nothing 
except the vicarious sufferings cf the Son of God could take away 
sin; nor give to the sinner a complete and immovable assurance of 
final impunity from the consequences of guilt. Is not this an- 
nouncement then fitted to impart, — and must it not, when proper- 
ly appreciated, necessarily give "joy!" — true joy! — solid joy! — as- 
sured joy! Can the effect be otherwise from an announcement 
which certifies us of the actual appearance, on earth, of that very 
character, who alone is able to deliver mankind from "wrath to 
come," and in whom alone therefore mankind can find a refuge 
from their fears? — surely the tidings that a Savior has come, "to 
give himself a ransom for all," and thus to remove these conse- 
quences of guilt that ever wake up the fears of mankind, — by the 
very relief afforded to the minds of men oppressed with galling 
apprehensions, — -must be regarded "good tidings" and cannot do 
otherwise than incite to emotions of lively "joy!" 

But this evangelic announcement is more than a mere relief. — 
It furnishes a great desideratum of man's moral nature. — There is 
— there ever has been, in all the souls of all the human race, a 
longing after a posthumous existence, — a thirsting for immortality. 
Whatever to the contrary may be, or may have been spoken in the 
bravadoes of atheism, or in the blasphemies of impiety, none can 
reconcile themselves, to cease to be, as soon as "they shuffle off 
this mortal coil;" but when they permit themselves to be their 
proper selves, they in common with all others, find a sensation 
within them springing up, that revolts with very vehemence, 
against a consummation, which would end them as though they 
had never been. An undying instinct for immortality is inherent, 
in the moral nature of our common humanity. Hence the ques- 
tion suggests itself, — it has always been suggested to all human 



110 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

minds, — will man survive the dissolution of his physical frame? — 
Wise men for ages tried to give a satisfactory answer; but at most, 
could only arrive at the bare possibility or mere probability of a 
future existence for man. Good men attempted to meet this 
great inquiry; but they only "saw, as through a glass darkly," 
and therefore spoke hesitatingly. Prophets, under inspiration, 
wrote in terms, which undoubtedly express the fact of man's 
immortal existence; but they seem not to have comprehen- 
ded the great sense of their own writings, and to have passed away 
"all under the cloud." All was doubt and uncertainty, amoun- 
ting to little more than vague conjectures, and vaccilating expec- 
tations of the immortal destiny of mankind, until the message of 
the herald angel introduced to men, that illustrious prince of life, 
who "brought immortality to light." — His character of Lord and 
Savior necessarily involved a power, as well as the prerogative, to 
perpetuate in the subjects of his redemption, "endless life." "This 
is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is 
in his son." "As thou hast given to him power over all flesh, 
that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given." — 
Indeed without such a power and prerogative to confer life eter- 
nal upon those who believe on him, — how could he have been a 
proper Savior? It was not a temporal deliverance he came to ac- 
complish; — his mission was not to save men from the sufferings of 
the present existence, — no, not even from that worst of the calam- 
ities of the present state, — the death of the body, which still comes 
to all alike: — but he came to be "the author of eternal life unto all 
that obey him." Consequently, being the author of a salvation that 
was to be eternal, it was inseparable from the notion of his char- 
acter of Savior, that he possessed in himself the ability as well as 
the authority, to impart an endless existence of conscious life, to 
all his obedient followers; because his salvation could not truly be 
eternal, or everlasting if those whom he professed to save, did ac- 
tually cease to be in the dissolution of their bodies. For this ob- 
vious reason therefore; his announcement in the character of a Sa- 
vior was tantamount to a demonstration of the certainty of man's 
future existence. In his proper person as a Savior, the author of 
an everlasting redemption, he embodied at once "the proof and 



THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. Ill 

pledge of immortality:" and under this construction, the tidings 
of his advent, wherever they go, carry a desideratum to mankind 
which meets one of the most pressing necessities of their moral 
natures; by reducing to an absolute certainty, that immortality 
they so naturally desire. — And do these tidings so operate in their 
diffusion among mankind? And can they perform a part so con- 
genial to men, without exciting any sensation? And if sensitive 
emotions are called forth, can they be other, — can they be less 
than emotions of lively joy? Ah yes! — panting for a perpetual ex- 
istence as is the spirit of man, — when these tidings disclose to his 
view, a boundless prospect opening up and sweeping through an- 
other state of being, extending over an ever lengthening vista of 
ages, — it is not more than was to be expected, that all the sensibil- 
ities of his moral nature should be stirred up to a pitch of lofty joy- 
fulness! — We see then that for both reasons now assigned, the ap- 
propriate effect of this announcement must be, what the Angels 
declared, would be, — "joy!" 

Observe then this influence, 

2. In its degree. 

"The joys," declared to the appropriate effect of the influence 
of this announcement, is characterized by its magnitude. The 
predication of the Angel is, that this "joy" should be "great!" — 
"Great joy," — why not? If ever there were an incentive to joy, 
in all its fulness of delight, that incentive is presented in these 
"good tidings." In every view of them," — from the benefactor 
they announce, — from the deliverance they promise, — from the im- 
mortality to which they point; — from all and each one of these con- 
siderations, the conclusions is inevitable, that if these tidings are 
rightly apprehended and adequately estimated, they must, of course 
produce "joy" in all its heights and depths of greatness. 

What a theme has this joy? — A Savior! — a great Savior! 
"the Lord," — a good Savior! "The Christ;" — a universal Sa- 
vior! "for all people." Truly, if a friend is a source of joy to the 
object of his friendship; and if a benefactor be a subject of delight 
to the denizens of his bounty; — what ought to be the measure of 
our rejoicing at the announcement of him, who, as our Savior, has 
infinitely transcended the kindness of our best of human friends;. 



112 THE EVANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 

and has rendered us a service, which no other benefactor could have 
performed for us, and which completely eclipses and throws into 
the shade, all other benefactions ever bestowed upon man! 

What an occasion also has the joy! — "Peace!" — "peace with 
God!" — "peace with God through Christ Jesus the Lord!" — Here 
is enough to make the relieved spirit, once harrassed with fear, now 
"entered into the rest" of believing, — thrice and four times blessed! 

What an inspiration too has this joy! It is animated by a hope 
that lays hold on immortality. Everlasting existence, "eternal 
life," "pleasure forevermore," "eternal glory," — what words are- 
these! Who can realize, that these words of immensity and eter- 
nity describe his own happy destiny, without emotions of extaticjoy? 

Notice then the felicitous influence of this announcement, 

4. In its universality. 

These "good tidings" contain the elements of an exuberancy 
of "joy," adapted to "all people." — All the diversities of the hu- 
man race, — of every condition, of both sexes, of all ages, of ev- 
ery clime, of all colors, of every constitutional temperament, of 
all degrees of intellectual acumen, and of every wordly avocation, 
■ — all, all, all, however opposite in other respects, find equally in 
these tidings of a Savior — a common source of large and lasting 
joy. The humble and the elevated character in civil life; the illit- 
erate in their ignorance, and the learned with all their literary ac- 
quirements ; the bondman, familiar with the lash and chain, and 
the freeborn exulting in their birth-right liberty; the child of ma- 
ny sorrows, whom misery had made its own, and the more favored 
sons and daughters of prosperity, gladdened with the smile and 
sunshine of a kindly providence ; — the sensitive of the softer sex, 
and the sterner nature of the man ; the prince grasping a sceptre 
and wearing a crown, and the peasant unknown and unnoticed 
beyond his own few sterile acres; the stunted Esquimaux among 
his eternal snows, and the noble Islanders of the sunny seas of 
the south; — the roving hunter of the American wilderness, and 
the refined professor in the halls of science : — all, all, all, what- 
ever their diversities in other points, — have in the announcement 
of him, who is "the Savior of all men," a common interest, that 
is a cause for "great joy to all people." 



SERMON IV. 



THE DIVINE MANDATE AT THE INCARNATION OF THE SON OF GOD 

"And again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith, 
And let all the angels of God worship him."— Hebrews, 1 chap. 6 verse. 

The birth of the Son of God had a powerful influence upon the 
state of all beings in all worlds. To man, it was the day spring 
of salvation: — to devils, it was the first signal of defeat and final 
overthrow: — to angels, it was a summons to greater devotion and 
to higher felicity: — to all intelligences, it was a change of state and 
prospects: — to God, it was a time of love. Heaven overflowed 
with joy at the event; and as Angels flew from world to world 
with the tidings, the unfallen universe rolled to a deeper harmony; 
while Hell, to its lowest abyss, yawned with convulsive dread, as 
there reached the echoes of Creations universal song, repeating, "A 
Savior born in Bethlehem!" 

Nor was this event more important in its influence, than it was 
wonderful as to its subject. Never before or since, did the throes 
of nature cast forth such a prodigy as was now born of woman. — 
Never did any race of beings number among their progeny one so 
unique, as was now brought forth in Bethlehem. What wonder, 
that the wisest of men travelled so far, with so eager haste, to see 
this strange sight! — for they might have visited every nation, king- 
dom, tribe, and tongue, of our world, without finding one so mys- 
teriously constituted, and so compounded of majesty and of mea- 
ness, as the Child, they found laid in a manger. What wonder, 
the angels should rush from heaven to earth to gaze upon this mar- 
velous being! — for they might have traversed creation to its outer- 
most bounds, and have searched through every world of the uni- 
verse, in vain, to discover a character like him, whom Mary wrap- 
ped in swathing bonds. Woman had given birth to heroes and 
15 



114 THE DIVINE MANDATE. 

Sages, to Conquerers and Kings, to Patriarchs and Prophets, to 
Apostles and Martyrs: but now she was called to a service, eclipsing 
with its surpassing honors, all her previous labors; and it was hers 
to yield to the w T orld a character, as superior in his dignity, as he 
was unlike in his nature to all the offspring of humankind. For 
now "a Virgin having conceived bare a son, whose name was to 
be called Immanuel, which being interpreted is, — God with us!"' — 
This is inquestionably the most extraordinary character in the en- 
tire universe. There is not, — and there never will be, — such an- 
other personage, either in this or in any other world. Many won- 
derful characters have, at different times, made their appearance 
on^earth, — in wh ose person, the most singular extremes were com- 
bined; but never was there one so extraordinary as Christ, the God- 
man. All other remarkable persons, who have appeared among 
men, — whatever might be their powers and pretensions, and how- 
ever strange or peculiar their characteristics, — were, after all, but 
men, possessing a nature common to every individual of the hu- 
man species; but Jesus united, to all the parts, capabilities, intel- 
lectual powers and excellences of a perfect humanity, a nature ab- 
solutely divine. In him, God with man, and man with God, were 
conjoined. In his person he combined a true and perfect man- 
hood, with an uncreated and absolute divinity. While he had the 
form and nature of a creature, he was possessed of all the attri- 
butes and prerogatives, in all their fulness, of the eternal Godhead. 
How appropriate is the denomination put upon him, by the proph- 
et when he names him, 'the w r onderful!' — Divinity incorporated 
with a human form, can no where else be found. On earth, nev- 
er was there, never can there be another God-man: — in heaven, he 
is the only being that does, or ever will sustain this amazing char- 
acter. "Who in heaven, can be compared unto the Lord? and 
who among the sons of glory, can be likened unto him?" In the 
celestial world, many wonderful beings undoubtedly exist, — distin- 
guished, we have reason to believe, with natures of the most sin- 
gular and sublime discription, and diversified in different degrees 
and in different ways, with most inconceivable peculiarities: but 
among all the orders and throughout all their ranks, they do not 
present aught so extraordinary and so complex, as a person in 



THE DIVINE MANDATE 115 

whom the essence of Deity exists in union with a created and 
finite nature. In heaven, as much as on earth, Jesus is, sui gener- 
is, a person by himself, having no similar, and being as unlike, as 
he is superior to all around him. 

No doubt this commingling of natures in the person of the Son of 
God is mysterious. It is the great enigma of the moral universe; — 
that "God was manifest in the flesh," is "without controversy the 
great mystery of godliness!" But what of that? — What indeed is 
not a mystery? — I myself am a mystery! How is this soul of 
mine linked to this body? — and how are its solid limbs and locomo- 
tive powers, moved by a thought, that has no substance, nor any 
thing common to matter? It is a mystery, — all mystery. — All a- 
round me is mystery! In all, I see the operations of life, physical 
life; when it declines I can mark its decay; were it gone, I should 
know its departure: but what is life, — this physical life in all? — 
It is a mystery — all mystery. — Every thing I see is mystery! How 
vegetation elaborates its constituent parts, or collects its elementa- 
ry ingredients; how instinct inheres and operates in brutes; how 
man should be always changing and yet always be the same 
man; — ah! it is a mystery — all mystery. — The world itself is full 
of mystery! God is everywhere, — he is present in every point of 
space, during every moment of duration; yet throughout the whole 
space measured by our world, mountains rise, cities stand, beings 
move, nay the solid globe itself revolves, where at the same time, 
God is, and occupies, and entirely pervades,— how? It is a mys- 
tery—all is mystery. Be it so, that all is mystery,— what then? — 
Shall I deny myself, and every thing above, beneath, around, or 
within me; because in myself and all things else, there may, be in 
the make, or mode, something inexplicable, or incomprehensible 
to my limited faculties? — Assuredly no! Neither should we deny 
then that God and man co-existed in the person of the one Christ 
Jesus, because it is "the great mystery of godliness." It is enough 
that we have the fact demonstrated to us by men, that were moved 
by the Holy Ghost. In the oracles of inspiration, it is written; — 
there it stands as a prominent item of divine revelation; and that 
is sufficient to challenge universal belief.— The text presents the 
subject to our view in a most striking and instructive manner. It 



116 THE DIVINE MANDATE. 

exhibits the Paternal deity introducing his beloved Son into our 
world at the hour of his nativity, and issuing a proclamation to all 
the exalted intelligences that surround his throne in the heaven of 
heavens; enjoining them to pay divine homage to the incarnate 
Son, even while he was "in the form," and acting in the capacity 
of, "a servant." At the very time "when he bringeth his first 
begotten into the world, he saith let even. the angels of God all, "in 
all their myriads on myriads, and in all their different ranks and 
stations, worship him!"— These words naturally divide themselves 
into two seperate portions, — the first, fixing our attention upon the 
event, — the second, directing our thoughts to the edict; — and the 
whole passage, including both its members, gives us to understand 
not only what transpired on earth, but also what was done in hea- 
ven, at the incarnation^ofthe Son of God. 
I. The event of the Saviors' incarnation. 
"When he bringeth in the first begotten into the world." 
These words, you perceive, describe the wondrous event of the 
Saviors' advent, or entrance into the world, in his mediatorial char- 
acter, for the purpose of accomplishing human redemption. Sev- 
eral times had the second person of the trinity, the Son of God, ap- 
peared before in our world; but never till now did he appear in 
such a form, for such a purpose, or in such a character. He, it 
was, that appeared to Adam in Eden, — to Moses in the burning 
bush, — to the thousands of Isreal on Mount Sinai, — to Abraham 
in Beersheba, — to Jacob when he wrestled through the night on 
Penuel, — to Solomon at the dedication of the Temple, — to Shad- 
rach, Meshech, and Abednego, in the fiery furnace. On all these oc- 
casions, Jesus Christ, the second person of the true Godhead, was 
the glorious personage, who showed himself visibly to his crea- 
tures; but on these occasions he appeared clothed with the em- 
blems of his own proper divinity; he had no real humanity; nor was 
the purpose of his visit to men, on these occasions aught of uni- 
versal concernment, or of permanent interest. His coming "in 
the flesh," by being born of a woman, — his becoming God incar- 
nate, by the assumption of human nature, — his appearance among 
men in "the nature of the seed of Abraham" for the purpose of 
the accomplishment of human redemption, — is the event, which 



THE DIVINE MANDATE. 117 

by way of pre-eminence and distinction, is called his advent; and 
to which the scriptures refer, when they speak of his coming into 
the world. This is the event, — the most astonishing and the most 
momentous event of the history of time, expressed by the language, 
"when he bringeth in his first-begotten into the world*" — This lan- 
guage, you will perceive describes the subject, denotes the manner, 
and directs us to the time of the event of the Saviors' incarna- 
tion. 

1. The subject of this event. ■ 

"His first-begotten." 

This is a title which is frequently given to Jesus Christ in the 
Scriptures, with some small variations; as, for instance, — "The 
only begotten of the Father," — "the first-born," — "the Son of 
God,"— "his own Son,"— "the Son,"— "his beloved Son,"— "his 
dear Son," — "the heir of all things," — "the first-born from the 
dead," — "the first-born of every creature; that in all things he 
might have the pre-eminence." This title is simply and only ex- 
pressive of honorable superiority; or, to give the more striking defi- 
nition drawn by an inspired apostle, — it is "a name that is above 
every name in heaven or earth." There is nothing in the title, 
that alludes to generation, or the mode of production, or the order 
•of time; for Christ was the Son of the Father in such a sense as 
no other son, in his natural descent, ever was, or ever could be: — 
but it simply and only denotes preeminence in prerogative and 
dignity; he being "first" in power, "first" in rank, "first" in office,, 
"first" in all things, and for all these considerations, therefore, — • 
"first" in greatness and glory. Scripture is best explained by 
Scripture; and we shall at once be convinced of the correctness of 
the explanation now given, by adverting to the scriptural use of 
the term in question. The apostle Paul, the penman of this pas- 
sage, was a Jew; — he was writing to Jews, when he wrote this 
epistle; and hence it was to be expected that he would employ 
Hebrew idioms, — Jewish modes of expression, as they occur in 
the Old Testament scriptures. Now it is notorious, that in the Old 
Testament the word, "first-born," or, which is the same "first be- 
gotten," is never used but as a title of honorary distinction. "The 
first-born" male child, — "the first 



118 THE DIVINE MANDATE. 

always had a double portion; he was regarded as the most distin- 
guished member of the family; he had a marked preference, — a 
precedence and rule over his brethren, formally conceded at all 
times and in all things. For these reasons, he was considered to 
be more honorable and of more consequence than the other chil- 
dren, and thus the term "first-born," or 'first-begotten'" came to be 
employed as a conventional expression, to denote a superior in 
state and station. That this title did not at all point to priority of 
birth, or the first in the order of time, or to any feature pertaining 
to ordinary generation, — is plain enough from the fact, that though 
several females had been bora in the family before the son's birth, 
none of them were ever named "the first-born;" but the title was 
always reserved, and exclusively confined to the first son, w T ho was 
regarded by his parents, as "the beginning of his strength, the ex- 
cellency of his dignity." Obviously then is this term a title of 
honorary distinction, denoting a distinguished superiority, In this 
acceptation, here and elsewhere, it is applied to the Savior, who is 
"the Son of God," in divine dignity, — "the first-begotten" of the 
Father, in the pre-eminency of his power, prerogatives, excellency 
and majesty. It is not intended to signify, that he was the first 
being that the Divine father created, or that he was, in the way of 
creative generation, produced at all by the first person of the God- 
head; for Christ, in his own proper nature, always existed — was 
uncreated, — was self- existent, — had "no beginning, — no begin- 
ning of days," and could have "no end of life:" but it exclusively 
means, that Christ sustains a relation corresponding, in the pre- 
eminency of its dignity and excellency, to that of a first-born son, 
and that in sustaining this relation, he is before all other beings in 
greatness; — "first" in the exaltation of his rank, — "first" in the 
extent of his authority,' — "first" in the supremacy of his power, — 
"first" in the claims of his office,' — and "first" in the grandeur of 
his glory; — being "the head over all for the Church," — "the head 
of all principalities and powers." — In the previous verses of this 
chapter, the apostle, speaking of Christ, declares, "He is heir of 
all things," — because he holds the relation of a first-born son; 
"being so much better than the angels, as he hath obtained a more 
excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he 



THE DIVINE MANDATE. 119 

at any time, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee? — I 
will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son?" As to the 
angels, in their highest offices, they are no more than ministers, — 
mere serving-spirits, — only waiting attendants: — "But unto the 
Son," seated upon his throne of majesty on high, he addresses 
himself, and says, "Thy throne, God, is forever and ever: a scep- 
tre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom — therefore God 
hath annointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." — 
"But to which of the angels said he at any time, sit on my right 
hand?" The conclusion then which forces itself upon us is, that 
the subject of the event recorded in the text, was, by being enti- 
tled "the first begotten" Son of God, intended to be represented in 
that supremacy of power, of authority, and of dignity, which be- 
long only to deity. The character is divine. It is the character 
"in whom dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." The 
phrase "Son of God," which is merely a synonyme for "the first- 
begotten," was always used and understood by the Jews, to denote 
a person possessed of absolute divinity. The reason they assign- 
ed for crucifying Christ was, "because he made himself the Son of 
God." If by this saying thay did not mean, that Christ represen- 
ted himself to be a divine person, then there could be no criminal- 
ity in the assumption, and in assigning a reason for his execution, 
they only used words without meaning, in which no reason at all 
was given; because all acknowledge, Jews as well Gentiles, that 
every man is by creation, as also is every believer by adoption "a 
son of God." But as the Jews were shocked, "because he made 
himself to be the Son of God," and were so incensed as to deem 
him "worthy of death" for claiming the title, their feelings and 
conduct can admit of reasonable solution, only by the concession, 
that by the phrase, "son of God," they understood to. be described 
a character really divine. This is likewise the' only sense, in 
which we 'can understand the terms used in describing the preach- 
ing of Paul, immediately after his conversion, when the historian 
says, "He preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of 
God;" phraseology this is, which could be construed into no sense 
whatever, if the meaning were not intended to be conveyed, that, 
in his preaching, he demonstrated Christ to be absolutely divine. 



120 THE DIVINE MANDATE. 

There can therefore be, no doubt, that the subject of this great 
event, now under investigation, was possessed of a divine nature. 
It was no secondary being that was "brought into the world." — 
No created delegate was he, whom the Paternal Divinity now sent 
forth among men. The Mediator, now making his entry, into the 
scene of his labors, and amidst the objects of his love and grace, 
was in his own original essence, more than human, — more than 
angelic, — more than arch-angelic, — more than ever was or ever 
could be created; — he wasthe "first-begotten" of the Father, "the 
brightness of his glory," "the express image of his person," who 
thought "it no robbery to be equal with God," and who, without 
fear of having his coordinate dignity disputed, could say, "I and 
my Father are one!" 

This doctrine, — the doctrine of the divinity of the Son of God> 
upon which the whole system of Christianity is based,— deserves 
regard at all times; but especially at a season like this, when if we 
think of Christ at all, our thoughts are wont to be engrossed with 
the humiliating incidents of his birth and infancy. In contem- 
plating the babe of Bethlehem, it is not impossible we should 
lose sight of the God incarnate. In thinking of the "child born," 
it is possible we may forget, this is "God over all, and blessed for- 
ever." By giving our undivided and exclusive attention to the 
meanness, poverty, apparent weakness and seeming insignificancy, 
which marked the birth of Jesus,— doubt and suspicion may be 
engendered and confirmed, respecting the claims which he prefers 
to absolute divinity. By a mental retrocession, we visit Bethle- 
hem: — we there see a solitary and obscure female give birth to a 
child: — we look upon this new-born infant cradled in the ox's crib; 
and the wonted weakness and helpnessness of young humanity 
appear in the babe: — it almost seems, as if we saw its little tears, 
and as if we had listened to its puny whine, as it lay on its com- 
fortless couch, till we are ready to indulge in pity. Occupied with 
such thoughts as these, we are apt to be confronted with the sug- 
gestion, can aught divine be here? Is it possible, that Deity can 
dwell within a person so puny? Can a form so diminutive and 
so feeble, as is that infant's frame, belong to him, who has filled 
immensity with the productions of his power, and who upholds the 



THE DIVINE MANDATE. 121 

well-balanced universe of worlds with his sovereign fiat? Can 
this be God? To such conflicting" thoughts, and distracting cate- 
gories, do we subject ourselves, — placing ourselves in full expo- 
sure to the dark surmises of scepticism, by absorbing our regard 
with one side of the Savior's character, and with the first portion 
of his incarnate history. To consider his divinity then, at a time, 
when the weakness of his humanity is liable to take our whole at- 
tention, is a course of conduct, which, for us, seems not only de- 
sirable but necessary; and which will furnish the counterpoise, we 
need, to the impressions derived from the scenes of Bethlehem. If 
in thought, we accompany the inquiring shepherds to the hovel, 
where the virgin's first-born was brought forth, that we, with 
them, "may see this thing that is come to pass;" let us take along 
with us, as an antidote to all our dark reasonings, the name he 
bears, "Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us!" 

2. The manner of this event. 

The inquiry now is presented — "How did the Father introduce 
into the world "his first-begotten?" The reply to this question 
discloses a fact, the most marvellous, as well as the most thrilling, 
that ever transpired within the bounds of human knowledge. — 
"When he bringeth in his first-begotten into the world," — it is in 
the person of an infant, born of a woman, in circumstances of ex- 
traordinary meanness, obscurity and inconvenience. Mary, a 
Jewish female, espoused to Joseph of Nazareth, a carpenter, is 
made to conceive a child in a supernatural manner. The humble 
pair, — summoned by an imperious decree of the government of 
Rome, who is now master of Judea, — appear at the chief city 
of their feeble tribe, the city of Bethlehem. In the precincts of 
this ancient city, now so decayed and small as not to afford acom- 
modations for the heads of the tribe during a transient stay, — Ma- 
ry was seized with the pangs of travail. There was no room for 
her in the inn. The stall of the cattle was the only place of retire- 
ment that offered for her accouchment: — and there, without atten- 
dant, and most forlorn, no better accommodated than their beasts 
of burthen, — even in the stable, where the animals, on which they 
rode, had been housed, — was brought forth that child, who was to 
be "called the son of the highest." There was "the child-born, 
16 



122 THE DIVINE MANDATE. 

the son given, whose name is wonderful, counsellor, the mighty- 
God, the everlasting father, the prince of peace." Even there did 
the Divine father bring into the world "his first-begotten." In this 
place so incommodious and so despicable; — in these circumstan- 
ces so untoward and so wretched, did the second person of the 
Godhead, he, the brightness of divine effulgence, the express like- 
ness of the Father's hypostasis, — appear on earth, arrayed in fee- 
ble flesh, to commence that great work, which completed creations 
design, which consummated all the preceding events of providence 
which filled the unfallen universe with wonder, joy, and praise. — 
Then for the first time, deity was seen in union with humanity; — 
then the majesty of the "mighty God" was veiled in the frailty 
and humiliation of mortal flesh: — then the creator of all w T orlds 
appeared in the person of an infant of days, and the divine object 
of heaven's worship was pillowed upon the manger of the uncon- 
scious beast! Was there ever aught so astounding? Can any 
wonder ever again transpire half so wonderful? who can blame 
the ardent curiosity of the Chaldean sages, who followed the lead- 
ings of that pointer-star, — over so many mountains, across so ma- 
ny plains, through so many rivers, and, during so many days and 
nights of wearying travel, that they might gaze upon this divine 
wonder? Who can feel surprised, that angels were drawn away 
from their thrones of glory, and attracted to the spot, where earth 
had a marvel, more amazing than all the wondrous things of the 
heaven of heavens? It was a wonder, that might have brought to 
Bethlehem all the millions of mankind, had they known, and had 
they been able to appreciate its supernal character. Nor could it 
have been thought to be an overweening curiosity, had all the in- 
habitants of all worlds petitioned the Universal Ruler for permission 
for awhile to leave their native planets, for the purpose of paying a 
visit to him, who was born in Bethlehem, — "God manifest in the 
flesh!" If the news of this prodigious event did reach the dis- 
tant regions of creation, as doubtless it did; — may we not suppose 
that the astonishment it occasioned in other worlds, long suspended 
their ordinary pursuits, arresting all as with the ecstacy of an en- 
chantment; — and may it not be doubted, if these enraptured be- 
ings, lost in wondering delight at the disclosure of the fact of dei- 



THE DIVINE MANDATE. 123 

ty embodied in "the form of a servant," have, even to this hour, 
at all recovered from their overwhelming surprize, or yet abated 
the plaudits of their rapturous rejoicing? 

But shall we not pause here, — to take a passing glance at the 
sacrifice of happiness and of honor, which was made in this event 
by its voluntary subject, the great Son of God? If this wondrous 
event was propitious in its aspect towards us, how painful must 
have been its contrarient concomitants to him! "Into the world," 
he was brought, — whence? From what scene was he conducted 
away, that he might "come into the world?" This language im- 
plies a removal from one place to another; his being brought "in- 
to this world," supposes he was brought away from another and 
different world, — and while we reflect upon the scene he left be- 
hind him, and consider the scene upon which he entered, when he 
was introduced "into the world," we must be affectingly impres- 
sed with the amount of suffering in which the Savior was involved 
by his change of residence. Heaven, the world of glory, and the 
central seat of perfect bliss, was the scene whence came the Son 
of God, when he was brought into the world. From everlasting, 
heaven had been his dwelling-place. There he had lived, — there 
he had reigned, — there he had been adored by the multitude of 
heavens' worshippers, — there he had reposed in the bosom of the 
Father," — "from the beginning, before the world was." But 
when the hour ordained for his nativity arrived, he was brought 
out, and away from his eternal habitation in the heavens. Ah! — 
whither could he go out, without finding an infinite contrast to his 
original residence? Out of heaven, — where could he find gran- 
deur like its glory? — where, society like its inhabitants? Away 
from heaven, — what other world would not present a dark, and 
dreary, and desolate scene? Even where sin had never entered, 
and where all things remained the same from the creation, though 
most glorious and enrapturing to others; yet to him, who had seen 
and dwelt in, and enjoyed heaven, what a painful contrast would 
be presented, and how powerfully would the difference be felt? — 
But it was not to a sinless and unfallen world, he was conducted; 
■ — though a visit even to such a world must, to him, have been a 



124 



THE DIVINE MANDATE. 



great diminution of enjoyment; but it was to our awfully degener- 
ate and miserable world, where sin reigns and woe riots through- 
out an entire race of apostate creatures, that he was brought, when 
he relinquished his native heaven. And who can conceive, what 
affliction must have been occasioned to him by a residence in a 
world like ours? what a grievous reverse must our wicked hab- 
itation have been to the pure, happy heaven he left! In the world 
he left, — perfection reigned throughout; in the world to which he 
came, nothing but disorder, decay, and discord! In heaven all 
were pure and holy; on earth, all were defiled and depraved! — 
Above, happiness was as common as the consciousness of exis- 
tence; beneath misery revelled in every bosom and was proclaim- 
ed by every object! Love and harmony run through all the ac-. 
tions of all those whom he had forsaken; malignity and strife agi- 
tated the men whom he visited! In the world above, every knee 
bowed to God, every eye was single to his glory, every tongue was 
vocal with his praise, every heart was filled with his love; in the 
world below, none sought after God, all eyes were averted from 
him, the tongues of men were filled with blasphemies against him 
and their hearts were at enmity with him. Think, what an awful 
contrast there is, even in your limited apprehension; and then 
think again, that the contrast in all these particulars, was im- 
mensely greater to the perspicacious eye and more refined sensibil- 
ity of Jesus, than it can ever be to you; because of his infinitely 
larger grasp of mind, and the extreme sensitiveness of his moral 
feeling as to sin and holiness, immeasurable in degree beyond all 
you are capable of; then conceive all he must have endured, when 
conducted away Jrom heaven, he was brought "into the world!" — 
A change of state and of residence so repugnant as this, must 
have agonized his whole soul! The prince, who is conveyed from 
the saloon of a palace, and immured in the murky gloom and chil- 
ling damps of a dungeon; or the individual who by some supernat- 
ural agency, and with a rapidity hitherto unknown, should be 
snatched from the beauty and fragrance, and glowing light, and 
gentle zephyrs, and genial warmth of a sweet summer's day, and 
at once be set down amid the bleak and cheerless, and chilling, 
and dreary desolations' of a wintry storm, in the continuing night 



THE DIVINE MANDATE. 125 

of the polar regions; — neither the one nor the other of these victims 
of sad reverses, could by the misery of their change of abode and 
circumstances, give us a just idea of the sacrifice of happiness ex- 
perienced by the Savior in exchanging heaven for earth; not only 
because the extent of the change was, without comparison, vastly 
greater in his case than it could be in theirs, but because the ex- 
amples of afflictive reverses cited, being but bodily and temporal 
afflictions, will not properly apply to his case, in which the repel- 
lancy of the contrast arose, from the contrariety in things moral 
and spiritual, between a holy heaven and a wicked world! yes! 
— all examples fail, all comparisons are inadequate, all illustra- 
tions are insufficient to exhibit in all the fulness of their immense 
extent, the sacrifice of holy feeling, and the surrender of divine en- 
joyments made by him, "who, though he was rich, for our sakes 
became poor, that we, through his poverty might be rich!" At 
most, all we can say is, "0 the heights and depths of that love to 
our lost race, that moved him to stoop from an elevation so high, 
and to descend to an abasement so deep, to become author of eter- 
nal salvation to those that obey him! 

3. The time of this event. 

A particular and determinate period, well ascertained, and re- 
markably distinguished, seems to be expressed by the word, — 
"When," — "when he bringeth in his first -begotten. What period 
is meant? and by what signs or tokens was it indicated? — The pe- 
riod referred to, for the accomplishment of this great and wondrous 
event, had been fixed upon "from the foundation of the world," 
and the pen of prophecy had distinctly pourtrayed the coinciden- 
ces which should mark the juncture, several centuries before its 
occurrence, and in some instances for two or three thousand years 
beforehand. In the prophetical passages of scripture, the time is 
defined by a number of concommitant events, which happened at 
or near the date of Christs' nativity, and which, by thus being con- 
temporary, ascertain it to be "the set time," fixed upon "from the 
beginning." 

The last blessing, which the patriarch Jacob, pronounced upon 
his sons, when he collected them around him, that he might fore- 
tell to them, what should befall their descendants in the last days, 



126 THE DIVINE MANDATE. 

contains a prediction, which places the time of this event at the 
very date of Christs' appearance. — "The sceptre shall not depart 
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh 
come." — Genesis, 49 chap. 10 v. The date pointed out by this 
ancient prediction, for the advent of the Messiah, was to be the pe- 
riod of time, immediately preceding the dispersion of the descend- 
ants of Judah; just before they should cease to have a king of their 
own; just before they would cease to have their Judges from among 
their brethren. Now all these concurring signs marked the time 
"when he bringeth in his first -begotten into the world." When 
Christ was born in Bethlehem, a king still reigned over the Jews 
in their own land; — they were yet ruled by their own laws; — and 
the great council of their nation, the Sanhedrim, exercised still, its 
authority and power. Before that time, the other tribes were ex- 
tinct: — Judah alone remained; and the last sceptre was still in Ju- 
dahs' hands. In a little while afterward, however, all these testi- 
monies to the era of the advent of the Messiah, passed away. — 
During the very year in which Jesus first publicly appeared in the 
temple, being then twelve years of age, — Archelaus, their king, 
was deposed and banished; — a deputy governor was appointed in 
his stead, by the Romans; — and the kingdom of Judea was made 
a mere province of the Roman empire. Thus the sceptre was 
smitten from the grasp of Judahs' tribe; their own lawgivers were 
taken away; their commonwealth was broken up; and soon after 
the death of Christ, the whole nation were scattered throughout the 
world. As Shiloh was to come a little before these calamities 
should befall the posterity of Judah; we have the most decisive ev- 
idence from this prediction, that Christ appeared when all the con- 
curring testimonies of the time denoted the prophetic period for his 
advent. 

The time is rendered yet more definite. In the book of Daniel, 
the kingdom of Messiah is not only foretold as commencing in the 
time of the Roman empire; but also the express number of years 
that were to elapse before his coming are plainly intimated. — Sev- 
enty weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy ho- 
ly city, to finish the transgression and to make an end to sin, and 
to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting right- 



THE DIVINE MANDATE. 127 

teousness and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to annoint 
the most holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the go- 
ing forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem 
unto the Messiah, the prince shall be seven weeks; and three score 
and two weeks: and the street shall be built again, and the wall 
even in the troublous time." Daniel 9 chap. 24 v. — Computation 
by weeks of years was common and well understood among the 
Jews; because every seventh year was the sabbatic year with them. 
Seventy weeks, according to this method of computation, would 
amount to four hundred and ninety years: — and from the seventh 
year of Artaxerxes, — when Ezra went up from Babylon to Jeru- 
salem, with a commission to restore the government of the Jews, 
to the death of Christ, when he finished sin and made reconcilia- 
tion for iniquity, — was precisely four hundred and ninety years, or 
"seventy weeks of years. "Three score and two weeks," — would 
be four hundred and thirty-four years: — and from the twenty-eighth 
year of Artaxerxes, when "the walls of Jerusalem were finished," 
to the birth of Christ, was exactly four hundred and thirty-four 
years, or sixty-two "weeks" of years. In these words then we 
preceive that prophecy marks most distinctly the very time when 
"Messiah, the prince, should come;" and we learn by the event, 
that the period predicted was exactly fulfilled even to a year. — 
Other prophecies might be adduced; but these are enough to show 
that the Divine Father brought in his first-begotten into the world" 
at the precise time, long foretold, and previously appointed, — 
when all the prophecies, as well as the promises of the ancient 
scriptures, travailed with a glorious day grace. 

Our further thoughts will be occupied with, 

II. The edict at the Savior's incarnation. 

"Let all the angels of God worship him." 

As far as we have information upon the subject, we have reason 
to believe, that "the angels of God" are the most magnificent be- 
ings, that have been created. There is an endless, though grad- 
ual gradation in the creatures which God has formed; ascending 
from a minuteness, which evades the keenest eye, to a magnitude 
which overwhelms the mind, and exceeds the utmost stretch of 
thought. In this series, man is supposed to occupy the middle 



128 THE DIVINE MANDATE. 

space, and "the angels of God" the uppermost and most exalted 
position. Their full splendor is too great to be endured by the 
eyes of man. They have a strength, which the combined energy 
of human beings cannot resist. They move with a rapidity ten 
thousand times greater than solar light. They require infinite 
space for the range of their movements, and eternal ages for the 
exercise and development of their faculties. Their minds grasp 
at infinity, and comprehend, in the twinkling of an eye, all the 
boundless connexions and relations of the universe. How great, 
how glorious "the angels of God!" yet mighty and magnificent 
as they are, — to them was the edict addressed, "when he bringeth 
in his first-begotten into the world," — "let all the angels of God 
worship him." — So was it decreed by the infinite Creator. He 
that made the mignty angels strong, — these ministering spirits ra- 
pid, — these exalted intelligences glorious, — these spiritual essen- 
ces w 7 ise and good, — even he commanded them, when he introdu- 
ced his own son into the world, to present to him divine honors! 
A proceeding, so singular, and involving principles of the highest 
moment, demands from us a careful, and thorough investigation. 
The doctrine and also the the occasion of this divine decree, 
ought to be closely scanned and fully tested. 

1. The doctrine of the decree. 

Doctrine is a w T ord derived from the Latin, doceo, to teach; 
and when used as a term of theology, signifies a truth taught us 
in the scriptures. — What then is the doctrine of this divine de- 
cree? — what are we taught, when are we informed, that God the 
Father decreed respecting "his first-begot- en, — "let all the angels 
of God worship him?" — The doctrine, taught, plainly is this, — 
that Christ Jesus is truly and essentially divinel — To God,— and 
to God only, can the religious worship of men, or of angels, or of 
any other creatures, be given properly. To worship a being not 
absolutely divine, w T ould be an act of idolatry, — however high 
that being might rank among creatures, and however peculiar and 
important the office, he sustained, might be. The sin of idolatry 
consists in giving to aught finite, that which exclusively belongs 
to an infinitely excellent being: and hence it matters not whether 
the worship due only to the Supreme Being, is presented to a 



THE DIVINE MANDATE 129 

piece of wood and stone, or to the most excellent of intelligent 
creatures, the idolatry is the same in itself. Unless therefore we 
dare to be so awfully blasphemous, as to imagine, that the Divine 
Father did, by this decree, introduce idolatry into heaven, and 
thus led the bright intelligences around his throne, to sin against 
himself, — we must become convinced, that Christ is truly God, and 
as God, is rightfully entitled to the religious homage of all crea- 
tures. — In reply, it may be urged, that as the Divine Father is Su- 
preme Ruler of the universe, he could enact any law he might 
chose; and therefore, that he might chose that all his creatures 
should pay divine honors to "his first begotten," though "he, the 
first-begotten" of the Father were but an exalted creature. To 

this, ii . " '■"; it may be rejoined, that the claims of Deity are 

not transferable, and, without a violation of all right, cannot be 
transferred to a created being; because these claims are founded 
upon the supreme perfections, which are inherent in Deity, and 
which cannot be imparted to any creature, on account of the 
creatures' limited nature. It would be as impossible to crowd 
infinity within the compass of a finite nature, as it would be mor- 
ally wrong to exact, for such a created nature, the claims of the 
divine infinity. Deity is infinite in perfections; and because the 
divine perfections are infinite, he is entitled to divine worship 
from all finite beings. If then divine worship were required to 
be given to a created being, the requirement would be manifestly 
unjust and unreasonable; because every created being is necessa- 
rily a finite being, and a requisition to worship such a being, 
would be to demand to be given to a finite what is only due to 
the infinite. The duty of the religious worship of deity does not 
depend merely and only upon the choice or determination of the 
Godhead; but is necessary and unalienable, arising out of the ve- 
ry nature of the case, and cannot be dispensed with, or done 
away by Deity himself. The Divine Being is obliged to receive 
from all his creatures religious worship; because such worship is, 
of right, due to himself, and to deprive himself of it, w r ould be 
therefore to do an injustice to his own self. He cannot however 
do any wrong, not the least, much less can he perpetrate a wrong 
so enormous, as would be an injustice to himself, done by himself; 
17 



130 THE DIVINE MANDATE. 

and therefore he cannot alienate, or hand over, the worship which 
is his own, to any other being. Consequently, as Deity cannot 
transfer to another his own dues, and as divine worship given to 
a creature, would be a robbery committed upon the claims of De- 
ty; — when the Father issues a fiat, which reads thus, "let all the 
angels of God worship Jesus, his first-begotten," — it is clear and 
certain, that Jesus must be properly and absolutely divine. This 
decree must be right, because he, who made it, can do no wrong. 
Christ, who is the object of the decree, must be divine, because 
none but divinity, could rightfully receive the worship which is 
here decreed to be given to him. That "the first-begotten," Je- 
sus Christ, is God is plainly the doctrine taught by this decree. 

A doctrine of so much moment in the Christian system as is this 
doctrine of Christs' Divinity, should not be allowed to depend up- 
on an isolated statement of scripture. This one passage indeed 
teaches the doctrine plainly and certainly enough; but to render 
the truth taught more certainly true, it would be well, to collect 
from the scriptures, some corresponding statements, which may 
confirm and corroborate the doctrine of the decree. 

In the very first chapter of the Christian scriptures, and when en- 
gaged with the detail of the incidents of his humble entrance into 
the world, the evangelist Mathew T , repeats the name given to him 
in prophecy, and calls him "Emmanuel, which being interpreted 
is God with us." — This name, — it can hardly be necessary to ob- 
serve, — was not a mere arbitrary cognomen, or an appellation, 
bestowed upon him, without meaning, and from mere caprice; but 
was in fact a name which, in its proper sense, described his real 
character. This is the peculiar genius of the Hebrew language; 
because in each of the terms it uses to designate persons and things 
it contains a description of the character of the persons, or of the 
quality of the things, which gives us a picture of them in minature. 
Hence when his name is called "Emmanuel," — it is because that 
name expresses, what Christ is in himself, and what he has done 
for us. Literally translated, it signifies "God with us," — that is, 
"God in our nature, and God on our side, or on our behalf." The 
meaning is, — He is essentially and eternally God; but at his en- 
try into our world, he took into union with his divinity, a form and 



THE DIVINE MANDATE. 131 

nature like our own; so that while he is essentially Deity, yet — 
"with us," he had a body of flesh, and a humanity of created mat- 
ter and mind. The last syllable in this name, — "El," is a con- 
traction of the Hebrew word, — "Eloheim," — in the same way as 
"Jah," used in the psalms, is shortened from "Jehovah;" and be- 
ing used to designate Godhead, when applied to Jesus, pronoun- 
ces him Divine. 

The Evangelist, John, seconds the statement of Mathew. He 
commences his Gospel, by introducing to the notice of his readers 
a character under the name of "the Word." He informs us "the 
Word" was in the beginning, — that, in the beginning, he was with 
God," — that the Word had created all that ever was created, and 
that, in fact, he was himself the very "God." John then advan- 
ces forward in his detail, and brings up the history of "the Word," 
to the Christian era. Then he tells us, "the Word was made flesh 
and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the 
only begotten of the Father, and full of grace and truth." — The 
designation here given to Christ, "the W T ord," is a name always 
and exclusively applied to Deity. Like our anglo-saxon word 
"God," it will not admit of being appropriated to any but a Divine 
Being. Even heathen philosophers were accustomed to use the 
term, "the Word," only in this sense. Long before John wrote his 
Gospel, the followers of Plato, as well as that philosopher himself, 
employed the name to signify the Creator of the world. The Sto- 
ics, another sect of ancient philosophers, affixed a similar idea to 
the "Word," as we learn from their writings. The Jews them- 
selves, from time immemorial, were wont to express a divine per- 
son by the name of "the Word." The Chaldee paraphrase, 
which is the most ancient of the Jewish uninspired writings extant 
generally uses the word, — "Memera" which means "the Word," 
in those places of the scriptures, where Moses has written Jehovah: 
and as this paraphrase was composed long before the christian era 
its testimony is undoubtedly an impartial and irrefragable proof, 
respecting the sentiments of the Jews, in their application of this 
name of Deity. What however ought to be considered of more 
weight than all that has yet been advanced, is, that this name, "the 
Word," is throughout the Old Testament Scriptures, applied to a 



132 THE DIVINE MANDATE. 

Being possessing Divine attributes. In the psalms, we read,— 
"By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the 
hosts of them;" — "the Word of the Lord is powerful;" — "the Word 
of the Lord is full of majesty;" — "the Word of the Lord breaketh 
the Cedars, yea he breaketh the cedars of Lebanon." — In Isaiah it 
is written, "the Word of the Lord endureth forever and ever;" and 
in another place, "I heard the Word of the Lord, saying, whom 
shall I send, and who will go for us?" — In Micahs 5 prophecy we 
read, "ye shall feed in the majesty of the Word of the Lord."— 
In Proverbs it is said, "the Word of the Lord is a strong tower, 
the righteous runneth in and are safe."— So common you perceive 
was the practice among Old Testament writers, of expressing a 
divine person by the name of "the Word." — This name is still 
more commonly and more explicitly employed in this sense, by 
the New Testament writers. John says plainly, "the Word was 
God." — Peter declares, "by the word of God, the heavens were of 
old, and the earth." — James says, "this is the word, which by the 
Gospel is preached unto you." — Paul frequently uses this name; — 
"the word," — "the word of the Gospel," — "the word which we 
preach." — In the Apocalypse, we are told, "his name is called 
the word of God, — "his eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are 
many crowns." — This then is the result of these researches: — "the 
word" is a divine name, only applicable to a being possessed of 
divine attributes; and as this name is given to Christ, we are there- 
by assured, that Christ is truly divine; — that all the attributes and 
prerogatives inhere in his nature, which belong to deity. "The 
word is God." 

It is worthy of note, while examining these descriptive titles of 
the Son of God, that if Christ be not truly God, the Divine Author 
of the Scriptures must be suspected of a design to draw mankind 
into direct idolatry; by speaking of Christ in such terms, and also 
giving him such names, in the Scriptures, as are calculated to lead 
them to believe the Savior to be divine. Any reflecting and un- 
prejudices person, when reading the Scriptures for the first time, 
would come to the conclusion that Christ is God; and if the lan- 
guage of Scripture has not been selected wilfully to deceive, it is 
certain the first impression they give, must be correct. If Christ 



THE DIVINE MANDATE. 133 

was no more than a mere man; — why has not God made this fact 
plainly appear in the Scriptures? — and why, in the Scriptures, is 
such language used to describe him, — such words said to be spo- 
ken by him, — and such works attributed to him, as are directly ad- 
apted to convey the idea, that he is divine; and as have actually 
induced nearly all, who have received the Gospel, to worship him 
as God? — The alternative is inevitable, — If Christ is no more than 
a creature, God has, by the statements of Scripture, intentionally 
deceived mankind; or if he has not done this with design, he must 
be chargeable with a culpable negligence for not preventing, what 
he might have foreseen would lead to this species of idolatry, in 
the inappropriate language of his inspiration. If Christ be only 
man, — could not the Holy Ghost, who inspired the Sacred Penmen, 
find terms that could not be mistaken, to declare his manhood? — 
and if God, could any other or better language be selected, which 
would express more distinctly, or more forcibly his Godhead? — 
Unless therefore we can suffer ourselves to impeach the integrity 
of "him, who cannot lie," by supposing that he aimed wilfully to 
mislead his creatures, or that he has negligently suffered them to 
be misled, by the equivocal statements of his own Revelation; we 
must be persuaded, that Christ is God, as he is constantly and 
plainly declared to be in the Scriptures. 

The indirect evidence of the truth of this essential doctrine, to be 
derived from the phraseology, which pourtrays the manner of 
Christ's entry among men, is abundant and convincing, taken in 
connexion with the positive testimonies already adduced. — Take, 
for example, Paul's account of the incarnation: — "Verily he took 
not on him the nature of Angels; but he took on him the nature of 
the seed of Abraham."— What is this but an unequivocal intima- 
tion of the Deity of Christ? — When he appeared on earth he had a 
body and a nature similar to the Jews, "the seed of Abraham;" 
but then they were assumed! The nature, in which he appeared, 
"he took upon him." It was not his original, — his proper, — his 
previous nature; but another nature, which he took up, or, (as it 
may be translated) "laid hold upon," being previously apart from, 
and independent of, his own native essence; and this other nature 
he added to his own. His humanity was no more his own self 



134 THE DIVINE MANDATE. 

than the dress, which an individual wears, forms a part of his pro- 
per person; or the mask, which the Actor puts upon him, belongs 
to his body. The human nature was taken up and put upon him- 
self, as the garment is taken up and put on by the wearer: — it was 
merely assumed, as the Mask assumes a character not his own. 
"The nature of the seed of Abraham," "he took upon him!" — 
What then are we to infer? Why plainly this;— if Christ took upon 
him human nature, in which he appeared among men, that human 
nature could not be his own proper nature; because it would be 
absurd to say, that a person "took upon him," what he had alrea- 
dy in his own being, with which he was constituted, as natural 
and proper to him. It would be as absurd as to say, that a human 
being "took upon him" a body; when we know that a body is pro- 
per and essential to manhood: or to say that a rational being "took 
upon him" reason; when we are aware that reason is a part of the 
proper nature of such a being. It is evident therefore, that as the 
Savior assumed, or "laid hold upon," or "took upon him" human 
nature, the humanity, in which he appeared, could not be his own 
proper nature? — What then was his own nature? If he was not 
human, anterior to his advent, and only became so by assumption, 
at his nativity, — what was the original nature, that was proper to 
him, and that was possessed by him, before he took up, and put 
upon him, human nature? — To this a ready answer might have 
been found, but for the Apostles disclaimer; — it were easy to reply, 
his original nature was that of an Angel. "No!" says the Apostle, 
"No! He took not on him the nature of Angels!" — and if he could 
not have an angelic nature, without assuming or taking upon him 
that nature, it is obvious, the nature of Angels could not be his own 
real nature. It is intimated that, if it had suited his purpose, he 
might have had an angelic nature; but then if he had possessed 
such a nature, he must have taken it upon him; — even an angel's 
nature could only become his, by being assumed. Now if it were 
necessary to lay hold upon, and to take to himself an angelic na- 
ture, ere it could be his, it is self-evident, that this was not the 
nature originally possessed by him; and consequently "the nature 
of angels" is not his own proper nature, which constituted his ori- 
ginal, identical self. This then is the conclusion, to which we are 



THE DIVINE MANDATE. 135 

unavoidably drawn: — as neither the nature of man, nor that of an- 
gels was Christ's real nature, he must have had a nature superior 
to both these; and therefore his real nature must be Divine. If in 
order to his becoming a man, he must have taken up what was not 
included in his own nature; if in order to his becoming an angel, 
he must have taken up what did not properly belong to him; — 
there is no avoiding the inference, that his own essential character 
must be different from both the human and the angelic, and con- 
sequently can be nothing less than Divine. — Another suggestion, 
in favor of Christ's Divinity, is presented by these same words of 
the apostle Paul: — Christ, it is said, "had the nature of the seed of 
Abraham;" but how did he come at this nature? In what way did 
he become possessed of his humanity? — It was by his own personal 
act and deed! He did not receive his human nature from the hands 
of others; — it was not given to him, or forced upon him; but he 
himself took it up. "He," — Christ, of himself, and by himself, — 
"took upon him the nature of the seed of Abraham." — Now I ask, — 
is this the conduct of a creature or of a Creator? Can any one con- 
ceive of a creature making his own nature; or "taking upon him" 
of his own accord, and by his own power, — the being with which 
he himself is constituted? — Would it not be worse than absurd to 
say, that a man "took to himself" a body? or that an angel "took 
upon him" his own angelic spirit? Man does not take to himself, — 
he has given to him, a body: — the angel does not form, — he has 
imparted to him, a spirit, by the Creator of all! Now as Christ 
"took humanity upon him," by his own self-sufficient and inde- 
pendent act; how certain does it seem, that he is none other than 
that independent and omnipotent Deity, who does as seemeth good 
in his own sight, and "who worketh all things after the counsels 
of his own will!" His human nature was not conferred upon him 
by another and superior being; but was taken up, — laid hold upon, 
voluntarily and independently, by his own self. This is the act, — 
not of a creature, but of a Creator; and as such, demonstrates, that 
Christ is God. 

With the same result, we may apply this inferential reasoning 
to John's account of the incarnation. — "The word was made (or 
became) flesh." W T hat was he antecedently? The world was 



13(3 i THE DIVINE MANDATE. 

about four thousands years old, when Christ was made or became 
flesh. Now we are expressly informed, that Christ had existed 
long before this: and as this was the first time he became flesh,, 
he must have existed previously in a different nature. He was "in 
the beginning," — "from before the foundation of the world,"— for 
by him were all things created:" and hence, as he was not 'flesh' 
till more than forty centuries afterwards, his nature, all that time 
before, must have been a nature different from "flesh." "His go- 
ing forth — the Scriptures inform us, — "are from everlasting; and 
as he did not appear in human nature until "the end of time," he 
must "from everlasting" have possessed another nature. Indeed, 
this same fact is plainly implied in the phraseology employed. — 
It is said, "the word became flesh;" but this supposes that he was 
something else before he was "flesh;" for he could not be said to 
be made or to become what he had been always. If he was made 
or became "flesh," then it is obvious, he must have undergone 
some change from what he was previously; and consequently his 
primitive and previous nature must have been different from the 
nature assumed when he became flesh. This primary and ante- 
cedent nature of his, — was neither human, nor angelic, as we are 
expressly advised by the inspired Apostles; and in consequence, 
lie must have been, "ab origine," absolutely Divine, 

Our doubts of Christ's divinity all dissipated, as were those of 
the unbelieving disciple; — what forbids that we should drop to 
our knees with him; and, that adopting his address to Jesus, 
we should exclaim, "My Lord and my God!" An impression of 
his divinity indeed was not easily to be derived from appearances 
at his nativity. The frail and insignificant "form" which he then 
assumed, almost entirely obstructed the view of his divine glories; 
and hard it was, to discern the Godhead hidden within the being 
of a babe. Not all the prodigies, that honored his entrance into 
our world, would have sufficed to convince us, that God was there 
enshrined, incarnate, — "without "a more sure word of prophecy; 
so incredible was the fact, — so much did all external appearance 
militate against its truth! Guided by that mysterious star that 
w T as a beacon to his birth-place, — we repair to the scene of 
the Savior's nativity: — and what do we behold? — Humanity 



THE DIVINE MANDATE. 137 

in its humblest form and feeblest state! To all appearances, a 
mere infant!- — it may be, without the weeping eye and the 
whimpering voice, which, at the birth of others, proclaim their fal- 
len character; — but still to the outward eye; — no more than a mere 
babe! Disappointment seizes us at the sight; and as we bend 
over his lowly cradle, we ask in doubt, — is this more than a frail 
piece of poor humanity? Can this possibly be "the fashion of 
him," whose greatness is unsearchable? Will God indeed dwell 
in a form so feeble and so mean? Soon however our suspicions 
and suspense are dissipated. As we stand thus in doubt, we hear 
a voice, sounding through the heaven of heavens, and reaching 
down to earth, saying, "Let all the angels of God worship him!" 
Now we can hesitate no longer. Now we are sure "this is Christ, 
God." Now it is certain, however appearances may suggest the 
contrary, "Here is God with us." We may assure ourselves, that 
Jehovah will not give his glory to another. We may be certain, 
that he who is so jealous of his rights as God, would not assign to 
another the worship, which is exclusively due to himself. We 
need no argument to convince us, that the Holy Majesty of heaven 
would not convert the worshippers around his throne into legalized 
idolaters; nor introduce into heaven a superstition that has so aw- 
fully cursed the earth. When we listen to the mandate, "Worship 
him all ye angels;" and when we behold cherubim and seraphim 
bending from their golden thrones towards his humble bed, in 
highest adoration; — the conclusion instantly flashes upon our minds 
— "Christ is, and must be, one with God the Father." At once 
we fall down in the same adoring posture as "the angels of God;" 
and overpowered with a sense of the present Deity, cry out, "My 
God, my God!" — Then another voice from the Eternal Truth comes 
down, and proclaims, "Thy throne, God, is forever and ever!" 
Now our conviction is doubly confirmed. Now of a truth, we 
know, "He is God over all and blessed forever." "Jehovah," — 
we are confident, — "will not lie;" neither will he deceive. We 
are persuaded, the God of truth can neither desire, nor promote 
the deception of his creatures. It is not at all necessary to prove 
to us, that the perfection of Excellency would not introduce to 
angels, and to men, a mere created being, with the title and in the 
18 



138 THE DIVINE MANDATE. 

character, of sovereign God. It is needless to tell us, that the 
Great Supreme would not share with a creature the throne of the 
universe; nor associate with his own name and prerogatives, the 
pretensions of the mere work of his hands. The great fact bursts 
upon us immediately, with irresistible demonstration, that He 
whom Jehovah addresses by the title of "God," and whose domin- 
ion Jehovah declares to be an eternal dominion, must have "all 
the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Yes! yes! — Christ is God — 
absolutely, essentially, eternally God! "Alpha and Omega, first 
and last, the Almighty!" And why should it startle, or surprise 
us, that he should be found, shrouded in an infant's form? Is not 
this rather our weakness, than any thing really incredible in the 
mode of the incarnation? Would his incarnation in any other 
form be less surprising? Would his assumption of an angelic na- 
ture have obliged him to a less stoop from his own essential digni- 
ty? Had he taken upon him the etherial form of the highest ser- 
aph, would it have been a shorter remove from his own divine su- 
premacy? Are not all created natures infinitely below his? and 
are not the flaming seraphim and the meanest "child of the dust" 
equally distant from him, in rank and in essence? In what other 
form than his own "express image of the Father," could he have 
appeared, in which he would have not seemed infinitely unlike 
himself; and equally concealed, as to his divine character, from 
the view of his creatures? His native grandeur could no more 
have shone forth, in its proper magnitude, and insufferable mag- 
nificence, through the highest created natures, than it did, when 
it was veiled within the puniest form of humanity! Let us then 
be satisfied, and adore him, in company with "the angels of God." 
Let us behold with devout admiration, in the form of the babe of 
Bethlehem, that humble shrine which "the mighty God" condes- 
cended to inhabit; and while faith reveres the hidden mystery, let 
gratitude celebrate his condescension, "who, being in the form of 
God, thought it no robbery to be equal with God: but made him- 
self of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, 
and was made in the likeness of men!" 

One other question, connected with the Savior's advent, remains 
to be settled, which will be investigated by discussing, 



THE DIVINE MANDATE. 139 

2. The occasions of this decree. 

Admitting the Godhead of Christ, — was not this mandate, "Let 
all the angels of God worship him," redundant and uncalled for? 
If "the first-begotten" be divine, then angels must always have 
worshipped him; and if they always paid him divine homage, 
what necessity was there for issuing, at his entrance into the world 
this peremptory decree? On the assumption, that Christ is God, 
the unfallen angels must have known, long before the time of his 
advent, that their bounden duty was to worship him, even in the 
same manner as they honored the Father; and, obedient to the 
calls of duty, as they doubtless are, they must have unremittingly 
performed this duty to the second person of the Trinity, from the 
very commencement of their own existence, down through all the 
seasons of time, to the very moment when this decree went forth: 
— hence there seems to be no justifying reason, why they should 
receive a new and special command on the subject of worshipping 
him. — The solution of this problem is easy. For, first of all — al- 
though the angels of God had known him and honored him as di- 
vine; yet on his appearance in the world, his circumstances were 
such as to require a repetition of his divine claims. Angels had 
hitherto seen him only arrayed in the splendors of his own divinity. 
They had known him from the beginning of their being; but until 
now, they had only known him in the grandeur of his Godhead, 
dwelling enthroned, in the blaze insufferable, of uncreated and un- 
approachable light. Up to this time, whenever they looked upon 
him, they beheld him only "as the radiation of the divine majesty 
and the exact type of the Father's personality;" — the fulness of 
him that filleth all in all." But at his incarnation the scene was 
completely changed. When the Father bringeth in his first-be- 
gotten into the world, how different was his appearance! Then, 
as he was ushered into the world, his glory was enshrouded in a 
human body. Then the majesty of his person, that had been 
wont to dazzle and overwhelm the very seraphim, was wrapt up 
in the weak, diminutive form of a babe. He was so disguised by 
the feeble flesh, he took upon him, that he then seemed little more 
than a mere man. Now all creatures, human and angelic, are 
fallible forever; and lest the fallibility of the angels should lead 



140 THE DIVINE MANDATE. 

them to a failure in their duty to the Savior; — lest they should not 
be able, in their thoughts, to reconcile his present humiliation with 
his former splendor; — lest they should be unable to penetrate the 
veil of flesh and blood, which now enshrined the hidden Deity, 
and recognize the object of their previous worship in mysterious 
union with human frailty; — lest the infant's weakness should shut 
out of their view, the mighty God, who retired within the infants' 
form; — lest the angels of God should thus fail, and fall into sin; — 
"when he bringeth in his first-begotten, he saith, let all the angels 
of God worship him." The occasion demanded a repetition of 
the original claim of Jesus, that angels might be sure, that "this 
same Jesus was both Lord and Christ," — was Lord of all, while 
yet he appeared in the form of a servant. They were thus certi- 
fied that his humiliation did not allow them to withhold the honors 
they had been accustomed to give to him; and his divine right to 
their worship was neither waived nor weakened, by his assuming 
the likeness of men. 

There was besides, a further occasion for this decree. The 
worship demanded by the Father for his first-begotten, was re- 
quired for him in a new character, and from new motives. Pri- 
or to his advent, the angels worshipped him in the character of 
Creator, and had been actuated in their worship by motives of 
gratitude for the goodness and wisdom displayed by him in the 
universal creation. The anthem, in which they had heretofore cel- 
ebrated his praise, was, "Thou art worthy, Lord, to receive 
glory and honor, and power; for thou hast created all things, and 
for thy pleasure they are and were created." — But now he appear- 
ed in a new character, and preferred other claims upon their re- 
gard. To his title of Creator, the Son of God now added that of 
Mediator; and in addition to the benevolence, which he had dis- 
played in the Creation, he had exhibited his astonishing and mer- 
ciful love to our fallen, perishing race. Originally "worthy" of 
all their affection, and the ascriptions of their highest praise; — to 
his previous claims upon their glad and grateful worship, he now 
superadded the claims of his transcendent philanthropy, exhibited 
in his voluntary sacrifices and services for the accomplishment of 
human redemption. The Apostle states, "that being found in 



THE DIVINE MANDATE. 141 

fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto 
death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath high- 
ly exalted him, and gave him a name, which is above every name: 
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heav- 
en, and those in earth, and those under the earth, and that every 
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God 
the Father." Here the assertion is distinctly made, that because 
Christ for a while suffered his glory to be obscured by his assump- 
tion of human nature; — that because "he humbled himself by be- 
ing found in fashion as a man:" therefore, — for that reason, — on 
that account, "every knee," in every world, "shall bow to him" in 
sacred worship. — Now with such an accession to his claims upon 
the homage of all holy beings, there was an obvious occasion for a 
new and emphatic decree, to assert, as well as to enforce, these 
additional claims, which he had deserved for himself as the great 
Lover of lost mankind. Among the angelic worshippers, a new 
theme of rejoicing and thanksgiving was now to be introduced; and 
in addition to that grand Anthem of Creation, in singing which, 
they had, for so long a time, celebrated the greatness of the power, 
the glory of the wisdom, and the munificence of the goodness, of 
Jesus the Almighty Maker of all things; they now had to tune their 
high-sounding praises to the novel strains of the Hymn of Redemp- 
tion, singing with adoring raptures, — "Worthy the Lamb, to re- 
ceive blessing, and honor, and glory, and power." To give a for- 
mal introduction of this "new song," into the ritual of the celes- 
tial choir, and to claim for "the first begotten," the supernumerary 
honors which are expressed in the ascriptions of this "new song;" 
the decree is sent forth, "let all the angels of God worship him." 
The occasion of the decree is thus distinctly apparent. The 
change of Christs' circumstances in his incarnation, as well as his 
superior claims upon the regards of his creatures, arising out of 
the office of Mediator, are considerations sufficiently urgent, to re- 
quire this sovereign behest of supreme authority, summoning, "all 
the angels of God" in a new and more exalted manner, "to wor- 
ship him?" — And if angels worship him, — shall we refuse to adore 
"the Lord that bought us?" — While Cherub and Seraph, — prince- 
doms and powers of the heavenly w T orld, — all, in all their orders, 



142 THE DIVINE MANDATE. 

of "the angels of God," bend from their lofty thrones of burning 
brilliancy, to laud and magnify him, who is "exalted a prince and 
a Savior;" shall not we, under a sense of personal obligation, and 
from motives of gratitude inspired by our direct and individual in- 
terest in the ransom of "the first begotten," sing, in joyful res- 
ponse to the song of the angels, — "Unto him that loved us and 
washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings 
and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and domin- 
ion forever and ever. Amen!" 



SERMON V 



THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 

"For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned 
with fire, nor unto blackness and darkness, and tempest and the sound of a 
trumpet, and the voioe of words; which voice they that heard, entreated that 
the word should not be spoken to them anymore; (for they could not endure that 
which was commanded, and if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall 
be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: and so terrible was the sight, that 
Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake;) But ye are come unto mount Sion, 
and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumer- 
able company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, 
who are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all and to the spirits of 
just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to 
the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." — He- 
brews— 12 Chap. 18 to 24 Verses. 

The economy of the Gospel is the most excellent dispensation of 
religion, that has ever been instituted among men. As this is the 
economy, which gives a full and final consummation to all the re- 
ligious dispensations, that had obtained previously, so it outshines, 
transcends and eclipses them all, by its surpassing purity, spiritu- 
ality, and perfection. From the first covenant of grace made with 
Adam after his fall, by which our first parents, and their posterity, 
were assured of a Redeemer, of the seed of the woman, — to "the 
days of John the Baptist," whose ministry placed mankind in a 
state of preparation for the introduction of Christianity among men; 
God had been pleased to institute a number of different dispensa- 
tions of religion, which succeeded, and superceded the one after 
the other, and which increased in excellency as they advanced in 
succession; — the latest always being better than the preceding one, 
and each in its order, possessing greater perfection than its fore- 
runner. Thus the Abrahamic covenant was superior to the Adam- 
ic dispensation, as the Mosaic economy was an improvement upon 
the patriarchal religion. Last of all, came the dispensation of the 



144 



THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 



Gospel, which was announced to be the ultimate of all the different 
dispensations, concluding and closing up the series of the succes- 
sive developments of divine grace to man; and this final dispensa- 
tion is represented to be the perfection, as well as the consumma- 
tion, of all the divine economies, surpassing all that went before, in 
its completeness, in its extent, in its advantages, and in the spiritu- 
ality of its services, as well as in the superior illumination of its reve- 
lations. To this, the realization of all the preceding dispensations, 
and the crowning glory of all religious economies, the God of love 
is declared to have put the finishing stroke of his wisdom and of 
his grace; and in its ordinances, influences, and blessings, he is 
said to have carried into effect the entirety of his benevolent inten- 
tions, and to have disbursed the whole of the riches of his goodness. 

Confessedly superior however as was the evangelical economy of 
religion, being "a better covenant, established upon better promis- 
es;" — so bigotted and besotted were the Jews in the first era of 
Christianity,' — with such blind and obstinate prejudice were they 
wedded to the religion of their forefathers, that whenever any of 
them were converted by the Gospel, and became members of the 
church of Christ, they, ever and anon, showed a hankering after 
the abrogated rites and ceremonies of the preceding dispensation of 
the Law, and were continually ready to relapse into Judaism. Al- 
though the elements of the new and final economy, under which 
they were now privileged to be placed, were "better" so immense- 
ly, than those of the old and new obsolete dispensation of "the 
Law," from which they had been released; yet were these Judais- 
ing disciples incapable of appreciating the difference, so as to over- 
come the prejudices of their education, or the infatuating influence 
■of their previous habits; but on all occasions exhibited a disposi- 
tion to relinquish the light, liberty, lenity, and other advantages of 
the New Testament, for the inferior observances, and the more dis- 
advantageous conditions of the Old Testament regimen. 

It was this folly that frequently called forth the censures and 
the admonitions of the Apostles' pen. His design, in the text, 
is to convince the Jewish converts of this absurdity. He is here 
endeavoring to prevail upon the Hebrew christians to cast off 
their fawning attachment and deteriorating tendency to Judaism ; 



THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 145 

and for this purpose, he sets before them, in bold relief and in 
direct contrast, the two dispensations, — the law and the gospel; 
and from the comparison, proves to them, — how superior, in ev- 
ery respect, is the evangelical dispensation, and how inferior, in 
consequence, is their own fondly favored and still venerated dis- 
pensation of "the law." In a strain of impassioned eloquence, 
and by a striking figure of speech, he brings out to view the 
prominent peculiarities of the two economies; and from the con- 
trast, in several particulars, demonstrates the entire preferableness 
of the Gospel economy. The Apostles' views, as stated in this 
passage, may be arranged under two divisions; — the first devel- 
oping the character of the legal economy, — and the second pour- 
traying the pre-eminence of the evangelical economy. 

I. The character of the legal economy. 

The most sublime and the most extraordinary scene, described 
in the ancient scriptures, is that at the giving of the moral law 
upon Mount Sinai. The pomp and circumstances, which usher- 
ed in that great transaction, have no parallel in the annals of his- 
tory or even in the fables of romance, and will never have a 
counterpart till the solemnities of the Judgment day. Nature 
was then made to marshal all her most terrificly grand phenom- 
ena, in unwonted dreadfulness ; and with her terror-bearing op- 
erations stunned the appalled Israelite through every avenue of his 
consciousness. Upon his eye, there was the lightenings' glare;— 
upon his ear, the thunders' roar; — upon his form, the tempests' 
blast; — and upon his mind, the sense of a present Deity. A scene 
of more sublime and impressive grandeur cannot be imagined! — 
Now it was this solemn scene, which the Apostle here sets before 
the Jewish Christians, and by its various circumstances, he repre- 
sents the distinguishing characteristics of the Legal economy. He 
employs, in the way of figure, or as in allegory, the place, where 
the Law was given, and the different circumstances, which happen- 
ed, when the Law was given, to describe the characteristic features 
of the Law itself as a dispensation of Religion. He does the same 
in his Epistle to the Galatians.— -"Which things," says he, "are an 
allegory: for these are the two Covenants; the one from the Mount 
Sinai, which gendereth to bondage." — As an allegory then, or fig- 
19 



146 THE SUPEFaORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 

urative representation, you perceive, the former part of the text 
exhibits to us, what was the religious state of men under the Old 
Testament covenant; or which is the same thing, the circumstan- 
ces, in which they were placed by the institutions of religion, un- 
der the economy of the Law. The circumstances, which existed 
at its first institution, prefigure its proper character. These teach 
us that "the Law" was a dispensation of religion, that was ad- 
dressed to the senses, — that was involved in comparative darkness, 
that was administered with tokens of terror, — that was distinguish- 
ed with rigorous severity, — that was fraught with imminent dan- 
ger, and that was contracted as to the limited number of its objects.. 

1. It was addressed to the senses. 

Mount Sinai, where the Legal dispensation was instituted was, — 
"a mountain that might be touched:" — a sensible object, that was 
tangible. It was an accumulation of matter, consisting of earth 
and rocks; and like any other mountain in the world, was visible to 
the bodily eye, and palpable to the organs of feeling, and might, 
over its whole superfices, be handled with the hand. "A moun- 
tain that might be touched," — it was, for that reason, an object of 
sense, as distinguished from a mental object; and in this respect, 
the dispensation of the Law, which was promulged from its sum- 
mit, was like it. — The legal economy was gross and palpable in 
its rites and observances, which were all obvious to the outward 
senses. They were things that might be touched, and handled, 
and seen. Every part of the ritual of the Jews was conducted 
with forms, and by instruments, and in the use of types, that ad- 
dressed themselves to the external senses. Their praises were ex- 
pressed by the sounding of trumpets, "which might be touched." 
Their grateful acknowledgments to God were presented in burnt- 
offerings of incense and of Lambs, "which might be touched." 
Their pollutions were removed "by the washing of water," 
"which might be touched." Their transgressions were expi- 
ated by the sacrifice of animals, "which might be touched." Their 
offerings were laid upon altars of brass and of gold, "which might 
he touched." Their priests were mere men, "who might be touch- 
ed" Their oracle was the High-priest's jewelled breast-plate, 
fi . which might be touched." Their morafccode wasinscribed upon. 



THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY, 147 

two stone tablets, "which might be touched." Thus almost every- 
thing, in and about, the religious worship of the Jews, under the 
legal dispensation, was sensible; and might be looked upon with 
the bodily eye, or handled with the bodily h and. — how much 
better the present economy of religion, under whose gracious aus- 
pices we now live! Under this, "we look not at the things which 
^re seen, but at the things, which are not seen: for now we walk 
by faith, not by sight!" 

As to the dispensation of "the Law," 

2. It was involved in comparative darkness. 

Clouds and darkness enveloped the mountain of Sinai, when Je- 
hovah descended upon its smoking summit, and there delivered to 
Moses the tables of stone, engraved with the precepts of the Moral 
Law. "Blackness and darkness" invested the whole of the mount, 
from its broad base, to the topmost peak of its rocky pinnacle, 
wrapping up all within its gloomy folds, as with a funeral pall. 
"There was," says the Sacred Historian, "a thick cloud upon the 
mount;" — and "Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke;" — "and 
the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace." — Thus 
was "darkness visible," upon this mount of God; — and this over- 
shadowing darkness significantly represented the comparative ob- 
scurity of the religious dispensation, which was then established. 
Dim and cloudy was the spiritual light of the Legal economy, in 
comparison with the unshadowed and complete illumination of the 
Gospel. The types and shadows of the Law, as it were, threw a 
veil over spiritual things, through which they could only be seen 
dimly, and but faintly could be discerned. They had the effect of 
the georgeously colored glass of the gothic windows of the stately 
Cathedral which imparts to the light, it transmits, a tinge of love- 
liness pleasing to the sight; but substracts from its clearness and 
its brilliancy, by the very shadings of its beauty. The whole of 
the rites and ceremonies of the Law afforded but few and feeble 
glimpses of these vital truths brought to light by the Gospel: — they 
were "seen as through a glass darkly." — The grace and glory of 
Christ, — his person and work, — the special blessings of his salva- 
tion, and the personal experience of the influences and the saving 
operations of his spirit,-^-as well as the resuscitation of the body, 



148 THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 

and the immortal nature of the spirit, — were very imperfectly un- 
derstood by the wisest and best men under that shadowy economy; 
and to the generality of the people were covered with a deep ob- 
scurity. The Jews, in the aggregate, "were under the cloud;" — 
"the light in them was darkness;" — theirs was a state clouded and 
bedimmed with shadows. — But we, under the Gospel," all as with 
open face behold the glory of the Lord, and are changed into the 
same image from glory to glory." — The darkness is past, and the 
true light shineth." "The veil, which blinded their minds in the 
reading of the Old Testament is done away in Christ." 

3. It was administered with tokens of terror. 

What a tremendous array of panic-inspiring circumstances was 
collected around Mount Sinai when "the law was ordained!" — 
The mount, "burned with fire," — rocked "with tempest,"' — "heav- 
ed with an earthquake," — reverberated ^"with the sound of trum- 
pets," "waxing louder and louder;" and while these awful won- 
ders were exhibiting, the accents of an unearthly voice, — louder 
than all this noise of raging elements, — more fearful than all the 
bursts of the battling thunders, — slow, solemn, soul-chilling, came 
forth from the fiery splendor which crowned the mount! — Dread 
display of desolating power! Stunning spectacle of awful majesty! 
"So terrible was the scene," that the multitude withdrew to a dis- 
tance and stood trembling; while Moses himself, though accustom- 
ed to commune with the Divine Majesty, in his milder manifesta- 
tions, and on occasions of less vindictive showing, was compelled 
to exclaim, "I exceedingly fear and quake!" — These terrific signs 
and wonders, with which the dispensation of the law began, con- 
tinued to accompany its administration to its close. The terrors of 
divine power were exhibited all along, to secure its purpose and 
to vindicate its injuries: — and thus those terrible tokens formed a 
characteristic feature of that dispensation. Jehovah invariably ful- 
filled his designs with, and for the Jewish nation, "by terrible 
things in righteousness." The earthquake, as in the affair of Co- 
rah and his company; — the devouring fire, as in the case of Nadab 
and Abihu, — the plague-pestilence, as in the rebellion in the wil- 
derness, and afterwards, in the sin of David; — the fiery-flying ser- 
pents, as in the punishment of the whole congregation; — the sword 



THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 149 

and slaughter, as in the repeated transgressions, and apostacies of 
Israel: — these were the awful instrumentalities, with which the Al- 
mighty carried on his operations under the law; and as Moses quail- 
ed with fear at the terrors, which accompanied the giving of 
the Law, — so the best of men, under the subsequent administra- 
tions of that economy, were often filled with awful fear and amaze- 
ment, at the dread doings of Jehovah. His fearful tokens, his ter- 
rible winders, from first to last of this dreaded dispensation pene- 
trated every mind w r ith dismay and disquietude. What a con- 
trast is presented to us in the mild and merciful processes of the 
Gospel of the grace of God! Here, "Mercy rejoiceth against 
judgment;" — "righteousness and peace kiss each other;"— and, 
"according to his mercy," in all the sweetness of its smiles, 
and in all the greatness of its grace, "he saveth us!" 

4. It was distinguished by rigorous severity. 

The commands, which God enjoined upon the Jews from Mount 
Sinai, were extremely strict. "They that heard entreated that the 
word should not be spoken to them any more, for they could not 
endure that which was commanded." — Accordingly, the Apostle 
Paul constantly describes the requirements of the legal dispensa- 
tion, as forming "a yoke of bondage." — Peter insists upon the 
same notion, and declares, "they were a yoke upon the neck, 
w T hich neither we, nor our fathers were able to bear."' — The num- 
ber, the difficulty, the strictness, the minuteness, the repetition, of 
these observances, required by the law, rendered them a grievous 
and almost insupportable burden; and the performance of them 
was little less than a constant drudgery. They were a tax, as it 
were, alike upon the time, the property, the bodies, and the minds 
of the Jews. How justly is the state of the Gospel dispensation 
represented to be "the liberty wherewith Christ makes his people 
free!" — "His commands," — under this "reign of grace" — "are 
not grievious!" — "His service is perfect freedom!" — "His yoke is 
easy and his burden is light." 

5. It was fraught with imminent danger. 

The Israelites w r ere prohibited from intruding within the hallow- 
ed precincts of Mount Sinai at the peril of their lives. Jehovah 
said, "w T hosoever toucheth the Mount, shall surely be put to death. 



150 THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 

There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall be stoned, or shot 
through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live." — Such was 
the rigor, that guarded the consecrated Mount of God, while 
hallowed with the symbol of his presence; and so extreme were 
the penalties denounced upon the least infraction of the prohibitory 
law! A touch with the tip of the finger upon its border, would 
have been enough to have forfeited the life of the offender; and 
with such austerity was the restriction enforced, that the irrational- 
ity of an unconscious animal was not allowed to be taken in ex- 
cuse, or for a plea of impunity; but the straying beast, which 
might happen to break over the sacred enclosure, — though nat- 
urally incapable of discernment, — was doomed to be punished in 
the same way, and to the same extent, as the rational man, who 
wilfully and knowingly transgressed. This fact strikingly illus- 
trates the uniform character of the legal economy. It admitted of 
no exceptions to its requirements; nor did it make any difference 
between persons differently circumstanced, in its general exac- 
tions; but inexorable to all alike, it denounced death for every of- 
fence, and for many offences which, in themselves, were appa- 
rently trivial. "Do and live; — disobey and die," were the stern 
and uncomprimising conditions annexed to all its requirements. — 
Indeed so unyielding was the law in this respect, and so numerous 
were the cases in which death awaited the transgressor, that there 
was no small difficulty for any one, under the Law, io escape with 
his life. For this express reason, the Apostle calls that dispensa- 
tion, "The ministration of death," and "the ministration of con- 
demnation." — What a delightful reverse is the Gospel! It is "the 
ministry of reconciliation." It is "the new testament; not of the 
letter, but of the spirit, that giveth life." 

6. It was contracted as to the limited number of its objects. 

None, except Moses and Aaron, were permitted to approach 
Mount Sinai, at the first institution of the Legal economy. "Thou 
shalt come up," — said God to Moses, — "and Aaron with thee: but 
let not the priests and people break through, to come up unto the 
Lord, lest he break forth upon them." — By this restrictive edict, 
you observe, the number of persons allowed, on this occasion, the 
privilege of immediate access to God, was confined to two, out of 



THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 151 

all the thousands of Israel encamped arouud the sacred Mount: — 
nor can we doubt, that this narrow limitation of privilege was 
designed especially to be significant of the restricted scope of the 
whole dispensation. "The law" was a limited ecclesiastical 
monopoly of spiritual immunities. It was chartered to a nation,, 
whose people were but few in number, compared with the great 
mass of mankind in general, or even in comparison with the im- 
mense population of the empires that adjoined them. It was a 
dispensation that engrossed all its regards upon the descendants of 
Abraham; designating them "the peculiar people, the chosen 
generation of Jehovah;" and reserving for them its divine privi- 
leges and peculiar advantages. It admitted within the pale of its. 
covenant, and "the partition wall" of its single sanctuary, none 
but Israelites, and those who had become such by the affiliation of 
circumcision ; and excluded all the rest of mankind from a parti- 
cipation in its "covenants of promise," from the ministrations of 
its priesthood, and from the benefits of its "lively oracles." — It 
had, in the working apparatus with which it was furnished, no 
means or appliances for Missionary operations; — it appointed no 
Ministers, and provided no medium whatever, to extend its light, 
and to offer its blessings, beyond the bounds of Israels' inheritance, 
into pagan lands, and among the nations of the Gentiles : and if 
an heathen, unsought and unsolicited, desired to come to "the 
hope of Israel," he could reach this privilege only, by renouncing 
his nationality, and, by a harsh process of naturalization, becom- 
ing a Jew. — The Gospel is a more expansive dispensation. Un- 
tramelled in its benevolent regards, it takes in all mankind, within 
the sweep of its mercy-breathing movements, and the range of the 
relief it so freely offers, without respect of persons. Disdaining all 
limits, — bearing down all restrictions, it compasses the whole 
world with its mission of mercy; and offers a ransom- right to all 
indiscriminately, to " come to the throne of grace for pardoning 
mercy, and for helping grace." — There Jew and Gentile, nations 
far off and nigh, ancient people and modern, — -merging all distinc- 
tions, — acquiring all one happy equality of right and privilege, — 
enjoying all blessings in common, — unite in one sacred, equalized, 
blessed brotherhood in Christ ! 



152 THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 

Such were the characteristics of the Legal dispensation : — gross, 
dark, awful, severe, dangerous, and contracted. — But the Apostle 
assures us, that " God hath reserved, or provided some better 
things for us?" Let us then turn our attention to these "better 
things," as they appear in, 

II. The pre-eminence of the Evangelical Economy. 

The two economies of religion, now under consideration, derive 
their respective titles, or different names, from the divine commu- 
nications given under them, or at their introduction among men. 
Under the first of these and in its first institution, the moral Law 
was given ; and therefore it was named the Legal economy, or 
dispensation of the Law. Under the present economy, and on its 
first introduction, were imparted those tidings of the birth, person, 
work, and grace of Christ, which embody the Gospel; and for this 
reason, this is called the Evangelical economy, or dispensation of 
the Gospel. The word, — Evangelical, — is a derivative of Greek 
origin, which is translated into English by the word, Gospel, and 
which literally means, a good message, or an announcement, that 
is pleasing in its strain and propitious in its intimations. It ex- 
presses the real character of this last and best dispensation of 
religion, which forms a complete and advantageous contrast to that 
of the Law. Under this "new and better covenant," we are not 
summoned, as were the Israelites under "the old testament 
economy," to appear at "the Mount, that might be touched," in- 
volved in "blackness of darkness and tempest;" and to hear 
" words" of intolerable rigor, and of painful prescription. No ! — 
but by a felicitous reversal of circumstances, we " come to mount 
Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, 
and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly 
and church of the first born, who are written in heaven, and to 
God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 
and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of 
sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." — In 
this brilliant passage, equally remarkable for its literary force and 
beauty, there is a fine description of the Church of God under the 
evangelical economy, — as to its state, — its associations, — its 
Head, — its Mediator, — and its redemption. 



THE -SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 153 

Here is described, 

I. The state of the Church under the evangelical economy. — 
" We are come unto Mount Zion, even unto the city of the living- 
God, the heavenly Jerusalem." 

Mount Zion was that hill, within the precincts of Jerusalem, 
upon which Solomons' temple was built. Upon the same hill also, 
the tabernacle was set up, which contained the ark of the cove- 
nant, the altar of sacrifice, and other sacred vessels, before the 
Temple was erected, and after David removed them from Shiloah. 
Here therefore the congregation of Israel assembled in a body for 
public religious worship. As this was the scite of the Tabernacle 
and also of the Temple, where alone the services of the Church 
could be performed ; this was the place of public meeting for the 
whole of the Jews in their Church capacity. On this account, the 
worshippers at the Tabernacle and in the Temple were named, 
"the people of Zion," "the inhabitants of Zion," — "the children 
of Zion ;" — and Jehovah said " I have set my King upon my holy 
hill of Zion." — Now in allusion to this, the Church under the Gos- 
pel, is here entitled, "Mount Zion." — The hill of Zion was the 
scite of the ancient Jewish Church ; and because of its appropria- 
tion to that special and sacred purpose, it happily serves for a 
suitable emblem of the Gospel Church, in its present superior 
condition, under "the ministry of reconciliation." — To this 
Church, — the figurative Mount Zion of the evangelical dispensa- 
tion, — believers " come," or are now brought ; — and the supe- 
riority of their spiritual state — over that of the Jews, who were 
called around blazing, thundering, tempest-shaken Sinai, — is self- 
evident. — They come to a Church, which is described, 

(1.) As a Divine City, — "the city of the living God." 

The Church of God, under the Gospel economy, has charac- 
teristics that correspond with those of a city. It is secured by 
defences, stronger than gates of brass, and more invulnerable than 
triple walls of adamant : — " the gates of hell can never prevail 
against" its safety. It is decorated with glories, before which all 
the grandeur and pomp and goodliness of a metropolis fade and 
become dim: "the beauty of the Lord God" is upon its "living 
temples" and " lively stones ;" — " an eternal excellency" embel= 
20 



154 THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 

lishes all, " adorned" with the blessed influence of " the doctrines 
of Christ, the Savior ;" — " the joy of all the earth is mount Zion, 
the city of the living God!"' — Is a city the scene of social inter- 
course and of an organized community ? Here, in the Church, 
saints dwell together in love, have fellowship with one another and, 
" as fellow- citizens," afford to each other mutual aid and comfort. 
Is a city subject to its own laws, — ruled by its own officers, — kept 
in order by its own governor, or magistrate ? Here all are 
" brought into obedience to the law of Christ ;" and He, " who 
is made head over all for the Church,"' — by "prophets, and evan- 
gelists, and pastors, and teachers, and helps, and governments," — 
has provided that " all things shall be done decently and in order." 
Does a city offer great advantages, — confer peculiar privileges, — 
and bestow valuable dignities upon its citizens? — So does the 
Church afford "spiritual blessings in heavenly places" to its 
members : and by their incorporation, they are all constituted, " a 
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar 
people ;" — " for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon them." 
The Church is thus like a city : — but it is more. It not merely 
has the corresponding features of a city, — it is " the city of God," 
of "the living God." — Great Church! — Glorious Church ! — Most 
blessed Church ! — God's city, " the living God's" metropolis on 
earth l- — " God is in the midst of her !" — It bears his name ; and 
hence is his nominally : — it has his likeness ; and therefore is his 
by assimilation : — it feels his presence ; and consequently is his by 
realization : — it exists by his purchase ; and obviously must be his 
as proprietor : — he makes it his terrestrial abode ; and for this rea- 
son, it is his in possession : — thus every way, and by every con- 
sideration, the Church belongs to God, and is " the city of the 
living God." Satan has his synagogues on earth, the vain World 
its soirees ; Mamon has his marts ; Idols have their temples, and 
Infidels boast of their receptacles : but God has an assembly of 
devout and devoted people, whom he designates "the city of the 
living God." 

The Church is further described, 

(2.) As a celestial city, — "the heavenly Jerusalem." 

The Church of God under the Gospel resembles the renowned 



THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 155 

and beautiful city of ancient Jerusalem ; — but with this exception ; 
it is of a " heavenly" character. The materials are earthly, — its 
locality is beneath ; but the element in which its body lives, as 
well as the tendency to which all its services contribute, are 
" heavenly." — The Church is " heavenly," because of its heavenly 
origin; — "heavenly," because of its heavenly enjoyments; — 
"heavenly" because of its heavenly influence; — "heavenly, be- 
cause of its heavenly aim; "heavenly," because of its heavenly 
consummation ! It is a heaven in embryo ; — a heavenly immatu- 
rity ; — a model, on a reduced scale and somewhat wanting in its 
details, of heaven upon earth ; — " a pattern of things exhibited on 
the mount" above, — " which serve for the example and shadow of 
things heavenly." — To this divine and celestial " city," this God- 
claimed and heaven-like communion, believers " come" under the 
evangelical economy. While the appalled Israelite looks with 
trembling gaze to the fire-girt confines of the begloomed and terror- 
struck mount of Sinai ; the Christian comes " with singing and 
with gladness," to this " Mount Zion, even to this city of the 
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." 

Here is described, 

2. The associations of the Church under the evangelical 
economy. 

The communion of the Church under the Gospel is far extended. 
It not only embraces every part of this world, where the believing 
children of God are found ; but reaches to other worlds, and in- 
cludes heaven itself. " Having made peace through the blood of 
his cross," Christ has united " all in one, even in himself," 
whether, they be on earth, or whether they be in heaven." Hence 
when true believers are now brought into the Church, they "come" 
to have a spiritual connexion, and to enter into a spiritual commu- 
nion, with all holy beings, in this world and in the world of heav- 
en ; — with all the pious on earth, — with all the saints in heaven, — 
with all the angels in glory. 

They " come" to have communion with 

(1.) All the pious on earth,' — "the general assembly and 
Church of the first-born who are written in heaven." 

The Apostle, in these words, speaks of his own times, and there- 



1 56 THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 

fore makes a distinction which could exist only in his own day. 
He separates the Christians, living in the world at that period, into 
two divisions, — " the general assembly" of Christians, that is, the 
universal Christian Church composed of all Christians in every part 
of the world ; — and then, as a distinguished class of Christians, 
who only formed a part of the whole, — "the Church of the first- 
born." — The first Christians, who were the first converts of the 
Gospel, and who were first united in Church-fellowship under the 
evangelical economy, are obviously intended by, " the Church of 
the first-born." They were the first who believed the Gospel,— 
" the first" that were " begotten again by the incorruptible seed 
of the word," — "the first" that became "new creatures in Christ 
Jesus," by being " born again ;." and thus they were " the first- 
fruits" of the Gospel, — "the first-born" of the household of faith,: — 
" the first that were called Christians," — the first members of the 
first Gospel Church ! Some of these " first-born" Christians were 
still living on earth, when Paul wrote his Epistle ; and therefore,, 
he singles them out, as a highly distinguished portion of the Chris- 
tian body, an illustrious class of the followers of Jesus, with whom 
it was an honor, as well as a happiness to hold communion. — 
These, and " the general assembly of the Church," are repre- 
sented to have one delightful privilege in common ; — " they are 
written in heaven." The names of each and all the members of 
the universal Church are enrolled on the "Lamb's book of life," as 
citizens have their names recorded in the civil list, or corporation 
register. The true Church in every place, and among every 
denomination of Christians, consists, — not of those, who have crept 
in unawares into the society of Believers, and who have usurped a 
name and a place to which they have no right or title, having only 
" a name to live while they are dead ;"• — no, — but of those who, 
having acquired the requisite qualifications, in a renewed nature 
and a living faith, have their names registered in the court of 
heaven, as proper citizens of the city of the living God" on earth. 
With all such as are thus " written in heaven," where-ever they 
may be located, and however widely they may be dispersed abroad, 
every true convert to godliness " comes" into connexion, and has 



THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 157 

a correspondence, under the present economy of religion. — This 
likewise they have with, 

(2.) All the saints in heaven, — "the spirits of just men made 
perfect." 

Good men, when they depart out of the world, exist in the 
unseen state, as disembodied "spirits." They are then "made 
perfect" in purity, holiness, and happiness. During their stay on 
earth, they are constantly striving to be " perfect men in Christ 
Jesus ;" but while they are thus " going on to perfection" daily, 
like Paul, they are not to be regarded, while on this side of the 
goal of their spiritual career," as though they had already at- 
tained, or w r ere already perfect." However high their attain- 
ments in religion, and however far they may surpass in piety the 
great majority of professors of religion, they are to the last the 
subjects of imperfection. ^ Their views, their dispositions, their 
acquisitions, and their enjoyments, are, in a certain degree, all 
defective. But no sooner do they put ofl this sinful flesh, and 
spring away from this sinful w T orld " unclothed," as naked spirits, 
than they attain at once to the full perfection of finite, and holy 
beings. — It is of these departed and disembodied saints, the Apos- 
tle here speaks, when he mentions " the spirits of just men made 
perfect." With all these sainted spirits now perfected in heaven, 
the true Believer forms a communion under the Gospel. True, 
they are above, and he is yet beneath ; — they are in the house not 
made with hands eternal in the heavens, and he, far away from the 
family mansion, is still in this earthly house of his tabernacle ; yet 
notwithstanding, they have one common centre of union and of 
communication in Christ, — " they are all one in him ;" and through 
him, they claim a mutual relation to each other, and are connected 
together with a blessed and endless affinity. 

" The Church on earth, and all the dead, 

But one communion make ; 
All join in Christ, the living head, 

And of his grace partake." 

They have too this communion with, 

(3.) All the angels in glory, — " an innumerable company of 
angels." 



158 THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 

Angels are of the same family with saints, — act under the same 
Head, and are, in a great measure, employed in the same work ; 
ministering to believers for their good, — "keeping them in all 
their ways," — and pitching their tents about them. These — as to 
number, — are " innumerable ;" and for order and union, — are "a 
company," and a glorious one. — Now those who, according to the 
will of God, are incorporated with the Christian Church, are thereby 
joined to these numberless Angels, in a union of friendship and 
spiritual relationship. Christ has made Saints and Angels one ; — 
"has brought those nigh, that were afar off;" — "has made of 
twain one harmonious body ;" — has by his cross united and com- 
bined earth and heaven, men and angels, in one " whole family," 
harmonious and happy forever. Consequently when a true Be- 
liever enters the Christian body, he " comes" into this compact 
between earth and heaven, and blends in the fellowship between 
the children of God on earth and the Angels of God in heaven. — 
What an exalted character is a real Christian ! How enviable 
even his present position ! His connexions not only reach around 
this great globe ; but even extend " to the utmost bound of the 
everlasting hills" of "the heavenly places!"- — He has relations 
not only in every land, and in every nation, and of every tribe, and 
in every family, upon the face of the earth ; but the perfect spirits, 
that are crowned with glory, and enthroned in splendor at God's 
right hand, claim kindred with him, and those illustrious sons of 
light, the natives around God's great bright throne, the Angels, 
through all their degrees, not excepting the loftiest seraphim, own 
him for a brother ! 

Here is described, 

3. The Head of the Church under the evangelical economy. 

The character in which the Divine Being now presides over the 
Church, is that of "the Judge of all." — The word, "Judge," as 
here applied to the Divine Being, is not, it is presumed, to be un- 
derstood in the common acceptation, in which it designates the of- 
ficial character, who presides in a court of jurisdiction, to admin- 
ister the awards of public law. The Savior, who is the Divine 
Head of the Church, will, no doubt, have the office, and act the 
part of a judge, in this sense of the word, on the great day of the 



THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 159 

general judgment, by condemning the wicked, and acquitting the 
righteous ; but the title "judge of all," used in the text, it is con- 
ceived, does not at all refer to these judicial proceedings. This 
title seems rather to be employed here, with the meaning of 
"Ruler," — "Head," — or "Governor," — describing the office, to 
which sovereign power pertains, or in which the supreme authority 
is exercised. In the Old Testament the term is often used with 
this meaning. In Isaiah it is said, " The Lord is our Judge ; the 
Lord is our Lawgiver; the Lord is our King: he will save us." 
Again : — " My salvation is gone forth ; and mine arms shall judge 
the people ; and the isles shall wait for me : in mine arm shall 
they trust." In the psalms, we read, " He shall judge his peo- 
ple." And again "Rejoice for the Lord cometh : he cometh to 
judge the earth; he will judge the people in righteousness." In 
all these passages, and in many other places, it is plain, that " to 
judge" signifies, — to govern, or to rule, or to exercise supreme 
control: — at least, the expression, "to judge," in these cited 
scriptures, cannot be applied to the judiciary proceedings of the 
general Judgment; because, "judging," in these instances, is 
mentioned in connexion with the bestowment of the blessings of the 
Gospel, and is represented to be a gratifying reason for joyous 
exultation, and universal gratulation. To preside with sovereign 
authority, — to rule with supreme power, — to govern as chief or 
head of the polity, is evidently the sense, in which God is here 
declared to be " Judge of all." — This meaning of the term is, 
most probably, derived from the peculiarity of the first government 
of the Jews. At first they had no King, nor prince ; but their 
government was vested in a chief, or head, or governor, whom 
they entitled " Judge of Israel ;" and the Book of Judges is the 
history of their several and successive administrations. Borrowing 
the title of these ancient Jewish Rulers to designate an office, in 
some respects, similar to theirs, the Divine Being is here denomi- 
nated " Judge of all ;" that is, in the Church, under the Gospel, 
" He is Head over all," — the Supreme in authority and power, — 
the Universal Ruler of all, who worship him in spirit and in truth. 
The title, thus understood, conveys a prominent truth, which was 
evidently pointed at the Judaising Disciples. Under the Law, 



160 THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECOH&WY. 

Jehovah Jesus was regarded as "the God of the Jews- only." He- 
was head over the Church, — not for all, but for them, and for them, 
who were Abrahams' chosen seed, exclusively. They said, — and 
under the former economy, they could say with entire propriety, 
" God, even our own God, will come and save us." — Now howev- 
er this monopolizing is abolished. God is no longer "the God of 
the Jews only;" "he is also and equally the God of the Gentiles." 
The middle wall of partition has been broken down ; and Jew and 
Gentile are indiscriminately to be united, in one common fellow- 
ship, under one common Head. " There is now," says the Apos- 
tle, " no difference between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord 
over all, is rich unto all that call upon him." — "One God and 
Father of all, who is above all, and through all and in you all." — 
To this Divine Head over all the Church, who is now no respecter 
of persons, but who wills "that all men may come to a knowledge 
of the truth that they might be saved," it is the happy privilege of 
the Believer to " come," under the present dispensation, which is 
charged to convey its good tidings of great joy " to all people." 
"God is judge of all:" — and "in every nation, whoever fears 
him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him." 

Here is described, 

4. The Mediator of the Church under the evangelical economy. 

The economy of the Gospel is called " a new testament," and 
"a new covenant." How? — It is "new," in comparison with 
the covenant of works, which God made with Adam before the 
fall ; and which was adopted to regulate man only while he con- 
tinued in his primitive state of innocency. "It is "new" also, in 
distinction from the covenant of the Law, which, through the me- 
dium of Moses, Jehovah entered into with the Jew T s, and by which, 
on the continued observance of the conditions then stipulated, they 
were constituted his "peculiar people."-— These older covenants 
had now become nail and void; and were succeeded by the econ- 
omy for the dispensation of the Gospel, which, on account of its 
being more recent in the order of time, and also of a different cast 
in its great features, was entitled "the new covenant."— Of this 
" new covenant Christ is the Mediator :" — " to Jesus the Mediator 
of the new covenant." Under the economy of the Gospel, Christ 



THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 161 

Jesus is the peace-maker, — the middle person, that goes between 
the offended parties, — the pacifier, who interposes between the 
party aggrieved and injured, and the offenders that were the ag- 
gressors and remained still hostile and alienated, — to bring them 
together in this covenant of peace for the purpose of reconciling 
each to each forever and ever. On the one hand, he removes the 
displeasure of God toward us, by taking away our sins, which 
were its cause : on the other hand, he subdues our enmity to God, 
by creating and sustaining within us a new nature, which is love 
to God. He thus brings both sides to agree, — reconciles God to 
us, and us, to God ; and so makes peace. To this Divine peace- 
maker, "the Mediator of the new covenant," all, that are saved of 
the Lord, " come" under the present economy. To the Jew it 
was urged, " Go to Moses !" — " for the law was ordained by an- 
gels in the hand of a Mediator ;" and that Mediator was Moses. 
But Christ is "the Mediator of a better covenant, established upon 
better promises;" — and to him, we are directed under this new 
covenant, to come, weary and heavy laden, if we would find rest 
to our own souls. "For him hath God exalted, with his right 
hand to be a prince and a Savior; neither is there salvation in any 
other : and by him all that believe are justified from all things 
from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses." 

Here is described, 

5. The redemption of the Church under the evangelical econ- 
omy. 

It is an axiom of Scripture science, that " without the shedding 
of blood there is no remission of sins." The reasons, on which 
this position is based, seem to be these : — " because the life is in 
the blood," therefore the shedding of the blood is tantamount to 
the taking away of life ; and the sacrifice of life is alone sufficient 
to make satisfaction for such an offence as is sin, the just desert of 
which is death. The blood of the animals, sacrificed by the Jew- 
ish priesthood, had no moral efficacy in itself ; but was merely of 
typical worth, and derived all its virtue from its reference to the 
blood of Christ, which is the only real atonement that can take 
away sin. — The blood offered by the High-Priest, on the great day 
of atonement, for the expiation of the sins of Israel, was sprinkled 
21 



162 THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 

over the ark of the covenant, and upon the Mercy-seat ; and for 
this reason, was denominated "the blood of sprinkling." In allu- 
sion to this, " the blood of Jesus Christ, the son of God, which 
cleanseth from all sin;" is here named, "the blood of sprinkling." 
That precious blood, — that gurgled from the quivering gash in the 
spear-pierced side of the son of God, and that, as it gushed forth, 
flooded away his great life, when, in falling to the ground, it. 
sprinkled down the cross, on which he hung impaled, and spread,, 
scattering its crimson drops all around the hill of Calvary, — was 
the great Expiatory, that atoned for the mystic Mount Zion, the 
heavenly Jerusalem. This blood, — this blood besprinkled, was 
the ransom-price for the redemption of "the Church of the living 
God!" — No longer have the suppliants for mercy, in seeking sal- 
vation, to repair to the Altar of burnt-offering, or to-be sprinkled 
with the life-blood of Lambs and Goats, to take away sin :- — now 
they " come" to a sacrifice of nobler kind, and of richer blood 
than these. " For we are not redeemed with corruptible things; — • 
no, not even with silver and gold ; but with the precious blood of 
Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish, and without spot.. In 
whom we have redemption, through his blood, even the forgiveness 
of sins." — Many affluent offerings, for the purpose of propitiation,, 
had already been laid upon God's altar ; silver without weight for. 
its abundance, — gold that in amount almost surpasses belief; — 
bullocks in herds of thousands, — lambs in flocks of myriads; — the 
fat of rams and of goats that had fed the sacrificial fires for ages, — - 
blood that had flowed in reeking floods like a river: but when 
"the blood of sprinkling" was poured out from the speared heart 
of the Crucified One, — that was an oblation, in comparison with 
which, all others are mean and poor in the extreme ! Even hu- 
man blood, — richer than the fine gold of Ophir, of greater worth 
than all the spotless victims from the herds or flocks, — had spread 
its invoking stains before the Lord, when " the blood of Abel" 
was sprinkled upon the Altar, on which, he had, erewhile at its 
foot he dropped a martyr, "offered a more excellent sacrifice," 
than the infidel-assassin, Cain, his brother, had cared to provide for 
an oblation: yet "precious in the sight of the Lord as is the death 
of his saints, "-^even pious Abel's lifes' blood had less, — immeas- 



THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY. 163 

ftrably less prevalency in its appeal to God, than " that blood of 
sprinkling" which the great son of God shed forth. Clamorous as 
was the blood of murdered Abel in invoking just Heavens' regard; 
the blood of Christ,— that "blood of sprinkling," "speaketh better 
things." — " Better things"? — Yes! — every way and in every view, 
" better," — immensely, absolutely, "better things." — Abels' blood 
invoked retribution ; the blood of Christ calls for salvation. The 
blood of the Martyr, as it trickled from his mangled corps, spoke 
volumes in illustration of the malignity of mans' sin ; the blood of 
the Mediator, as it spotted the earth and the cross, speaks loudly 
and impressively, of the magnitude of Divine Mercy. The voice 
of Abels' blood was provocative, as a challenge ; the voice of 
Christs' blood is conciliatory, as a plea for forgiveness. The 
blood of Abel, as it stained the hands and soiled the garments of 
his guilt-struck murderer, spoke daggers to his soul, in its dread- 
ful thoughts of damning crime, and in its torturing fears of coming 
vengeance : the blood of Christ, when applied by the spirit of God 
to the souls of believers, " purges the conscience from dead 
works," so that "they have no more conscience of sin," — "hav- 
ing their hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience." Terror, over- 
whelming terror, followed the cry of Abels' blood : where the 
blood of Jesus imparts its sweet sense of sin's forgiven, there is 
joy, unspeakable joy. yes! — " the blood of sprinkling speaketh 
better things!" — To this atoning blood, with its better plea, and 
better advocacy, must all " come," who would " flee for refuge to 
the hope set before them" under the Gospel. 

In the review then of these considerations severally, — the state 
of the Church, its associations, its Head, its Mediator, and its ran- 
som, — who can deny the superiority of the economy of the Gospel? 
It is indeed "a better covenant established upon better promises," 
under which we, in the present day, have our privileged, lot. 
What then shall we say to these things ? 

(1.) Shall we not be excited to gratitude, and be urged to 
greater devotedness by our superior advantages under the Gospel ? 
Shall our thanksgiving to God, who orders our lot, be no warmer, 
or our efforts to advance his honor be no~greater, than those of the 
Jews, that lived in the mere twilight, while we are in the meridian 



164 THE SUPERIORITY OF THE EVANGELICAL ECONOMY* 

day of spiritual illumination, and who were entangled with " a 
yoke of bondage, that they were scarcely able to bear," while ours 
is "a reasonable service," of " perfect freedom?" Let us " glo- 
rify God for the grace wherein we stand," as well by the praises 
of our lips, as by the actions of our lives, consecrated to his honor! 

(2.) Shall we not realize our increased responsibility under the 
Gospel ? — " For unto whosoever much is given, of him shall be 
much required, and to whom there has been committed much, of 
him they will ask the more." Measure then the degree, in which 
the claims of God upon us exceeds the responsibility of those un- 
der the Law, by the immensely greater advantages we enjoy over 
them ; and how obvious is it, that if their religious obligations 
were great, ours surpass them in both weight and magnitude a 
thousand fold ! 

(3.) Will you not fear to incur the greater condemnation conse- 
quent upon incorrigible disobedience under the Gospel? " There- 
fore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we 
have heard. For if the word spoken by angels w,as steadfast, and 
every transgression and disobedience, " under the Law," received 
a just recompense of reward ; how shall we escape, if we neglect 
so great salvation ; which at the first began to be spoken by the 
Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him?" "He 
that despised Moses' law, died without mercy, under two or three 
witnesses : of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he 
be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the son of God, 
and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was 
sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit 
of grace ? For ye know him that hath said, "Vengeance belong- 
eth unto me, I will recompense saith the Lord." 



SERMON VI 



THE WORK OF GRACE ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST THE MODEL FOR RE- 
LIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

'"And the same day there were added unto them about three thousand 
•souls."— Acts 2 Chap. v. 41. 

'Time is a stream. The occurrences, which fill up its successive 
periods, commonly run on straight and steady, like the even and 
constant flow of a water course. At distant and uncertain inter- 
vals 'however, — like the stream of a river, by a sudden break in its 
banks, or some unwonted obstruction in its course, is arrested and 
violently thrown out of its usual channel, — the smooth aud onward 
current of time has been frequently disturbed and interrupted, by 
a sudden turn of events, altogether extraordinary in their aspect, 
and commencing a new order of affairs. The seasons when these 
extraordinary events happened, — the dates or periods of time, at 
which the new order of events commenced, have received the name 
of — epochs — and — eras. 

All nations, ancient aud modern, have had in their histories, such 
epochs, or eras, which they have continued for ages to commemo- 
rate by public celebrations. In ancient times, — the Jews had their 
"year of release," which they observed as a jubilee; — the Greeks 
bad their Olympiad, which they celebrated by national games and 
gladiatorial exhibitions ; — the Eomans had their Saturnalia, which 
they commemorated by public festivities. In modern times, — the 
French have their Ides of March; — the Papal States, their Carni- 
val ; — the Protestants of Germany, their Reformation ; — the En- 
glish, their Gunpowder plot; — the Americans, their Fourth of July; 
the Indians, their equinoxial solemnities. 

As it is with nations, so it is with religions. All religions have 
their remarkable eras, — marked epochs of their history, which are 
annually commemorated by extraordinary rites and observances. 



166 fHE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

Hindooism has its incarnation of Vishnu ; Mahomadism has its He- 
gira; — Judaism has its passover ; — Popery has its Easter, or pas- 
sion week; — Deism has its birth-day of Paine. 

Nor is the religion of Jesus singular in this respect. Like the 
people of all nations, and like the retainers of all religions in the 
world, the Church of God has its singular day of renown, — its pe- 
riod of glorious remembrance. This era of the Christian Church, — 
the grand epoch of its great history, — the starting point of its il- 
lustrious and all conquering career,- -is the day of which the text 
speaks, — the day of Pentecost: — that day, when the glories of 
Christianity, first, with overpowering splendor, broke out upon an 
astonished world;' that day when the great Son of God first began 
to display "all that power given to him in heaven and in earth;' r 
that day, when those triumphs of the gospel first commenced,- 
which will never cease, until the entire race of mankind are won 
over to the love and to the service of the blessed Redeemer. This, 
this is the day, which Christianity regards as 'its most marked 
epoch: — this is the day to which Christians will ever refer as the 
grand era in the annals of the church! 

Even under the former dispensation, "the Day of Pentecost' 7 
was a period of remarkable interest and import in the history of 
God's ancient people, the Jews. By an express direction, and a 
divine constitution, given to Moses by the Lord God of Israel, this 
day was solemnly set apart to be constantly observed for a grand 
religious festival of the Jewish nation, who were required to keep 
its celebration, with a number of singular and highly attractive 
rites, and ceremonies, and sacred services. The day derives its 
name from a Greek word, which means fifty; because it followed 
about seven weeks, that is, fifty days after the celebration of the 
feast of the Passover. To the ancient Jews, this day brought up 
a number of precious recollections, and was connected in their 
thoughts, with several great and wonderful incidents. On the day 
of Pentecost, the Decalogue, or law of the ten commandments,, 
was delivered from Mount Sinai, amid thunderings, and lightnings 
and tempest. On the day of Pentecost, the children of Israel 
were, for the first time, admitted in a body, including the whole 
people, into covenant connection with Jehovah, and were constitu- 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS/ 167 

ted as a nation, the Church of God. On the day of Pentecost, the 
Jews commemmorated the conquest of Canaan, and their actual 
possession of the land of promise, which the God of their fathers 
had pledged himself to give to them. On the day of Pentecost 
was celebrated "the feast of first-fruits," when the earliest ripe 
grain was offered for "a wave sheaf" before Jehovah, in acknowl- 
edgment of his power and bounty, as Lord of the harvest. On 
the day of Pentecost, the Jewish nation had their annual "thanks- 
giving day;" when the whole of the male population appeared be- 
fore the Lord, in solemn convocation," to return thanks unto the 
Lord, because he is good, and his mercy endureth forever." How 
interesting and impressive must this day have been to the Jewish 
Church, — awakening in them, as it did, so many delightful remin- 
isences ; and associated in their minds, as it was, with so many 
great and glorious events ! 

To the christian Church, "the day of Pentecost is still more 
precious in remembrance, and has an import more glorious, than 
it could have to the ancient Jews. Shortly after the introduction 
of Christianity into the world, on this very day, there happened an 
event, more surprising, more important, and therefore more memo- 
rable, than all the other events of the Jewish history, that had pre- 
viously rendered the day conspicuous and celebrated. On this 
self-same day, the promised influences of the Holy Ghost were shed 
forth upon the crowded population of the city of Jerusalem; "and 
the same day there were added unto the Church about three thou- 
sand souls." Day of high and holy renown! Illustrious epoch in 
the history of the worlds' redemption! — Era ever to be precious in 
pious memories! — While nations vaunt in their anniversary celebra- 
tions; and the deluded Devotee dotes upon his sacred festivals; 
and the dark Pagan dilates with delight upon his mystic orgies; 
and the purblind Jew glories in the high day of the paschal feast: 
We, fellow christians, will think of Pentecost! — that season of 
Gods' triumphant grace! — that day of mighty converting power! 

The mighty movement of spiritual influence, that has made 
"the day of Pentecost" so remarkable, and so memorable, while 
it is a divine wonder worthy of all admiration, likewise furnishes 
a lesson of divine instruction deserving of all regard. It has been 



168 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

in all past times, — and through all future times, will ever be, re- 
garded as a specimen-work ; — a pattern revival of religion ; — the 
original model of a great spiritual reformation, in the quick, pow- 
erful and extensive conversion of sinners ; — the archetype, to 
which all succeeding revivals of religion will conform ; — the sam- 
ple, with which, in their essential features, all subsequent revi- 
vals will correspond. If revivals of the work of God take place, 
at present, among us, they will resemble this, the first and best 
revival, just as the transcript follows the copy; — or as an imita- 
tion corresponds with the original, — or as a work that is made 
after the given pattern. The work itself will be the same in kind, 
in the present day, as that of the day of Pentecost ; and of course, 
the same means as were then employed with success, are the iden- 
tical means, which we can alone expect to be successful, in this 
our day. — Itmay therefore assist us to ascertain, not only, what a 
a real revival of religion is, — a discovery of great practical worth ; 
but also what on our part individually is required to promote 
such a revival ; — if we contemplate, 

The magnificent work of grace which the text describes, 

The special instrumentality by which it was effected, — and, — 

The different impressions which it produced. 

Be propitious now, Lord, "the God that answereth by 
fire ;" and let the pentecostal fire-flames fall upon the people, 
kindling within us a spirit of burning, while we " turn aside to 
see this great sight" and attempt the discussion of this great work! 

I. The magnificent work ot grace, which the text describes. 

"And the same day they were added to them about three 
thousand souls." 

The whole Christian Church, previous to this magnificent ac- 
cession, consisted of only about one hundred and twenty persons. 
The members of the Church, at that time, were very humble indi- 
viduals, who had been taken from the meanest occupations, and 
the lowest walks of life. Scorned, reproached, defamed, perse- 
cuted, — they endeavored to hide themselves from public obser- 
vation, in the most retired and concealed parts of Jerusalem. 
Their number was so small, — their means so scanty, that they 
could procure for their meetings no larger, nor more convenient 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 169 

place, than a loft, or attic, or garret, in the upper part of some 
private dwelling. They were now as Orphans in the world, — all 
alone, without guide, protector, or patron. Seven tedious 
weeks, — fifty long days of suspense had elapsed, since their great 
and kind Master had left them ; and grieved and dismayed at a 
bereavement so great, as was the loss of the presence of Jesus, 
their Divine Friend and Leader, — their drooping spirits, by this 
time, we may suppose, were ready to yield up entirely to abso- 
lute despondency and despair. As they sat together, in the upper 
room, brooding over their discouraging situation, and perhaps, 
musing upon the probabilities of the final failure of the good and 
glorious enterprize, in which they had embarked their all ; — lo ! — 
on a sudden, they are startled by an unusual sound, — a mighty 
rush is heard ; — the blast of a tempest, rustling, sweeps over 
them ; — the room is shaken, as if rocking with the heavings of an 
earthquake, or as if tottering to the gusts of an hurricane. Rais- 
ing their heads and looking around, to discover the cause of this 
disturbance, how strange a sight meets their eyes! A tongue- 
shaped flame of glowing fire is flickering above each ones' head! 
It is a prodigy! It is astounding! But before they have time 
sufficient to give utterance to their great surprise, they begin to 
feel a new and unaccountable sensation about their hearts. In a 
moment, by a wonderous metamorphis within, they find " all old 
things are passed aw T ay, — lo ! — all things have become new!" All 
at once, — a wonder to themselves! — they feel themselves all be- 
come new creatures, — new men and new women ! They cannot 
contain themselves for joy! — the house cannot contain them! — 
the place is too strait for their big and bursting feelings! They 
rush to the door, — they spring into the street, — they hurry on till 
they reach the great thoroughfare of the city ; and there, " being 
filled with the Holy Ghost, they began to speak as the Spirit gave 
them utterance." Nor did they speak unheard or unheeded. 
Presently they were surrounded with a vast multitude, composed 
not alone of Jews, but of persons out of every nation under heav- 
en, who were then in Jerusalem for purposes of traffic or de- 
votion ;— presenting to the view, a motley crowd, in which every 
cast and color of countenance were to be seen, and every peculi- 
22 



170 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

arity of habit and of national costume was exhibited. Pressing 
close around the Christian Speakers, this mixed multitude now 
stand, — they wonder,— they gaze, — they listen, — they under- 
stand, — they are moved; and before they are aware, a seeming 
enchantment is upon their souls, and they feel themselves enchain- 
ed by a mysterious influence from the Speakers' words, which 
they neither expected, nor could resist. What must they now do? 
What could they do, but yield up their hearts to God, — and 
themselves to his Church ? " And the same day were added to 
them about three thousand souls !" — Astonishing work ! Yes, in 
one and the same day, — at least within the very brief space of 
twenty-four hours, — nay, probably in less time than the waking 
hours of one whole day, — the increase of the Church was thirty- 
fold ; and that forlorn and feeble band, which, the day before, 
could only muster one hundred and twenty, could now count up 
its thousands ; and to their confused and confounded foes, present- 
ed a solid phalanx, three thousand strong ! " Surely this was the 
Lords' doing, and is marvellous in our eyes!" 

The number of persons however, included in this sudden acces- 
sion to the Christian community, is not the only feature of the work, 
that challenges our wonder and admiration. If the movement, 
which impelled these three thousand souls to add themselves to the 
Church, had been a mere ebulition of phrenzied feeling, — nothing 
more than a passing burst of natural passion, — unsolid, superficial, 
impermanent, and not divine, — there would have been little cause 
for boast. The mere act of joining a Christian Society, — apart 
from the motives, which induce the act, from the advantages, to 
which it leads, and from the purposes and determinations, which 
it ought to imply, — is a very small matter indeed ! But this ac- 
cession to the Church of Christ, described in the w^ords of the iext f 
claims our admiring regard, not merely for its magnitude in num- 
bers, but also for that deep, thorough, permanent, spiritual w r ork, 
wrought in these three thousand souls by the Holy Ghost, — which 
was its only, — its immediate cause. The work no doubt was 
great ; but this is not its only, nor indeed, its chief praise. It was 
a good work, as well as a great work ; — a work as excellent in 
its qualities, as it was magnificent, in its numbers. To convince 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 171 

yourselves of the truth of this representation, —take a considerate 
view of this magnificent work, — in its nature, — in its subjects, — 
and in its author. 

1. The nature of the work. 

This is distinctly portrayed in the narrative connected with the 
text. The sacred penman describes the progress and process of 
this gracious work thus : — " They were pricked in their hearts ; — 
they said to the Apostles, Men and Brethren, what shall we do? — 
They all believed together ; — They received the Apostle's words 
gladly, praising God ; — They continued steadfastly in the Apostle's 
doctrine and fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayers."— 
Such is the description, in detail, of this great work, left on re- 
cord by the pen of Inspiration ; and from this description, we 
learn, that in these three thousand souls, that were added to the 
Church on the same day, — conviction was produced, — concern was 
awakened, — conversion was experienced,—; joy was inspired, — 
obedience was secured, and — perseverance was induced. Sum up 
these particulars, and in the combination of these details, you will 
be furnished with a complete view of the nature of the work of 
grace here described. 

It is evident,— Conviction was produced. — When they had heard 
the words of the Christian speakers, " they were pricked in their 
hearts." — This is figurative, — what was the plain fact intended to 
be expressed? Their hearts were pained, — their feelings were 
wounded, — their consciences received a stab, — their moral natures 
were penetrated with painful emotions, by means of the faithful 
address they heard. — This language will describe no slight sensa- 
tion, — no superficial hurt, — no impression of easy endurance ; but 
on the contrary, denotes a deep incision, — an internal suffering, — 
a distressing infliction upon the inward sensibilities, — a piercing 
wound passing inward and downward " into the heart." — " They 
were pricked," — where ?- — Near the heart ? No, more than 
that. — Upon the heart? No, even more than that. — What then? 
"They were pricked in their hearts." Dark and hard as their 
hearts were, the word of Divine truth worked a way into their 
hearts, wounding as they went down. They were penetrated to 
the very centre of their being by the sermon of Peter, which pro- 



172 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

duced in them such a sense of moral guilt, and apprehensions' 
of spiritual danger so fearful, as occasioned to them an anguish 
-of mind extremely distressing. Unquestionably, these figura- 
tive expressions, were meant to describe, thus, the power and 
the pungency, with which they were acted upon by their deep 
convictions of sin and of danger incited in their souls by what they 
heard. Not merely was "their mouths stopped, — their hearts 
were wounded! They not only could not withstand, or gainsay 
the Apostles' words, — they were troubled with a torment within 
them. Their minds were not only brought, to acquiesce in the 
statements of the Christian speakers, and to yield an unreserved 
assent to their truthfulness ; but — more and much further than 
this, — they were cut to the very core of their sensitive nature by a 
feeling of compunction, which these statements of the Christian 
speakers aroused in them. The most pungent and painful con- 
sciousness of their moral guilt and of their own everlasting peril, was 
excited in them, by means of the divine truths delivered to them 
by the Apostles. " They were pricked in their hearts !" 

It is farther evident that, — Concern was awakened. — With an 
air of profound anxiety, " They said to Peter and to the rest of the 
Apostles, Men and Brethren, what shall we do ?" — -The convic- 
tions of some individuals are not deep enough to produce in them 
a due earnestness to obtain salvation. The sense of guilt and of 
danger in such persons is barely sufficient to make them uneasy ; 
without arousing them to that extremity of feeling, which is neces- 
sary to secure personal religion, and which embodies all the solici- 
tudes, and all the energies of our sensitive nature, in one mighty, 
all-absorbing concern "to escape the wrath to come." The indi- 
viduals, now alluded to, are neither quite dead, nor yet fully alive, 
to their spiritual danger. They are not altogether " cold," nor in 
any degree "hot," upon the subject of their own personal salva- 
tion. They have indeed convictions ; but they have little or no 
concern to become religious, so as to be saved from the power of 
sin here, that they may escape the punishment of sin hereafter. — 
Not so were these three thousand souls. Ah! no: — their con- 
sciousness of guilt and of danger was so overwhelming as to be 
past endurance. They felt distressingly oppressed in their spirits 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 173 

with an alarm, which would not allow them any longer to remain 
either indifferent or inactive. Tormented with intolerable fears 
and forebodings, predicated upon (heir conscious guilt and their 
new-discovered danger, they durst not, even for a moment, hesi- 
tate, or delay to seek immediate relief. Under this pressure of 
alarming emotions, therefore they promptly betook themselves indi- 
vidually to the Apostles, and earnestly solicited them for direc- 
tions, — how to find a refuge from their fears, — where to discover a 
remedy for their distress,- — in what they could make sure of a safe 
and lasting shelter from the pains and penalties due to their sins. 
'"0 Men and Brethren, what shall we do?" — they cried out, in an 
agony of anxious concern. — Theirs were not convictions, that suf- 
fered them to be uninterested and unoccupied as to the experience 
of religion. Theirs were not convictions, that permitted them still 
to disobey the promptings of conscience, and the calls of con- 
sciences' God, in the temerity of braving the consequences. 
Theirs were not convictions, that allowed them still to go on 
speculating and theorizing, where the eternal interests of their un- 
dying souls were at stake. Theirs were not convictions, that let 
the subjects of them lose sight of themselves and of their personal 
danger, by a process of generalizing, in which the individual hides 
from himself in the crowd. Not such were the convictions of these 
three thousand souls. 0, no : — they were pressed out of measure 
by their convictions ; and such was their alarm, that they felt, 
they must have relief at once, or they would perish. " A wound- 
ed spirit, who can bear? — and such a wound, so deep and so pain- 
ful, had their convictions of guilt and of danger inflicted upon 
their spirits, that they could no longer endure its anguish, without 
making an effort for its removal. Impelled by the urgency of their 
agonized feelings to seek, an antidote for their heart-pains, — a 
balm for their spirits' wound, — a cure for their conscience-tor- 
ture, — a Saviour from their damning sins ; they exclaimed, with 
deep emotion of concern, " Men, — Brethren, — what must we do ?" 
The narrative shows, — Conversion was experienced. — These 
anxious Inquirers after the way of life were not kept long in sus- 
pense. The Apostle Peter, and the rest of the Brethren, were 
neither loth, nor slow to give them the required information. 



174 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

They instantly replied to these three thousand anxious souls, ex- 
claiming to them, "Repent every one of you; and ye shall receive 
the promise of the Holy Ghost." No sooner said, than done. 
The direction, promptly given, was as promptly obeyed. They 
did immediately repent, and in consequence, they at once, were 
converted, by the Holy Ghost, which they received in their souls. 
The narrative does not state this, in direct terms ; but informs us, 
" They gladly received the Apostles' words," which directed them 
all " to repent," that they might " receive the Holy Ghost." 
This, of course, is tantamount to saying, they did actually and 
immediately, receive into their souls the regenerating influences of 
the Holy Ghost : — because as soon as they complied with the di- 
rection expressed in the inspired words of the Apostle, by "glad- 
ly" doing what was demanded of them for this very thing, — so 
sure as God, who gave the promise, is true, and will certainly do 
all he has promised to do, — so sure is it, that the promised influ- 
ences of the Holy Spirit were received in these three thousand 
souls, and did perform upon them the work of a true conversion. 
We are further told in the narrative, " they all believed together." 
Afterwards we are assured by the inspired Narrator, that those, 
who were now "added to the Church," were — "the saved." 
Their conversion therefore was real and undoubted. It was a 
conversion proceeding from "the Holy Ghost, which they receiv- 
ed ;" — a conversion, evidenced by the faith, through which " they 
believed ;" a conversion consequent upon penitency, which was 
the pre-requisite for the " receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost, 
and the remission of sins:" — a conversion, constituting in itself, as 
a divine change, that absolutely indispensable essential, — the sine- 
qua-non, — without which they could not be, "the saved." — They 
were not merely under conviction : — alas : how many have perish- 
ed forever, who had lived half a century under stifled convictions ! 
They were more than anxious inquirers after religion : — Ah ! too 
many, who are now weeping and wailing in hopeless woe, were 
once greatly concerned for their souls ; but finally suffered their 
spiritual anxieties to decline into a fruitless, fatal apathy ! These 
three thousand souls were very different. They prompted up their 
own anxities, — they pushed on their own spiritual concern, — until 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 175 

"the travail of their souls" resulted in the New-birth. They 
"repented everyone of them;" they "believed altogether" "for 
the remission of sins ;" — they "received the Holy Ghost;" and 
through the converting grace of the good Spirit of God, which "fell 
upon them," they were raised into a "newness of life," by be- 
coming "new creatures in Christ Jesus." 

The next item, of this description of the work under investiga- 
tion, indicates, — Joy was inspired. — These three thousand souls, 
not only received the Apostles' words, and received them with 
promptitude ; but also with Joyfulness : — they " received them 
gladly," — " praising God." It was now with them, as it had 
been with the psalmist, when he exclaimed, " He hath put a new 
song in my mouth, even praise to our God." They could now 
appreciate the rejoicing strains of the Prophet, singing, as he sung, 
" Lord I will praise thee ; for thou wast angry with me, but 
thine anger is turned away and now thou comfortest me." They 
now had "the peace and joy of believing." They had "joy and 
peace in the Holy Ghost," which they now had received. Their 
hearts were filled with gladness, under the sweet solace of that 
Gospel, which, whenever and to whomsoever it becomes " the 
power of God unto salvation," is invariably "glad tidings," that 
inspire "great joy." They not merely escaped from their sor- 
rows ; but they became " glad." They not only parted with 
their pains; but they attained at once to "great joy." They not 
only left off their mourning ; but they immediately began " prais- 
ing God." The conscience-stricken penitent immediately became 
a rejoicing believer; — the heart-broken mourner rose up the happy 
triumphant, child of God, "praising God and having favor with all 
the people.' 

The narrative demonstrates, — obedience was secured. — These 
new converts seemed to have understood at once their duty to unite 
with the church of God; and to have instantly obeyed the obvious 
calls of duty. " On the same day ," the narrative informs us, — 
the very day on which they were converted, — the very same day 
in which they experienced religion, — the first day in which they 
had " come to a knowledge of the truth ," and discovered what du- 
ty demanded from them, " the self-same day they were added to 



176 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

them," — that is, — to the Apostles and their fellow Christians, who 
composed the church. They never thought, — as some among us 
now think, — of having their religion to themselves. They did not 
for a moment imagine, — as some among us now imagine, — that 
they could maintain their religion as well without the church, as 
within the church. They did not suppose it enough, — as some 
suppose now,— to be penitent, to break ofl from their sins, to be- 
lieve with the heart unto righteousness. No,— they perceived at 
once, as if by a spiritual intuition, that in addition to all that they 
had as yet done and secured ; and for the purpose of carrying out 
into a consummating completion, all they hcd already practised or 
experienced, the dictates of duty pressed a still further claim up- 
on them. Having been "delivered from so great a death," thro' 
the abounding grace of Christ, they saw immediately, that obliga- 
tion and interest, — obedience to their Savior, and the benefit of 
their own souls, singly, and unitedly, urged them to unite in the 
fellowship of the Christians: and "the same day they were added 
to them." Nor was their union with the church the only conduct, 
in which these New Converts exhibited their Christian obedience. 
It was but the first act in their continued practice of every duty 
devolved upon the followers of Jesus. From the moment of their 
first reception into the Christian community, they went forward, 
"walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord 
blameless." We are told in a paragraph subjoined to the text, — 
"All that believed were together, — and continuing daily with one 
accord, in the temple, and from house to house, in breaking of 
bread and in prayer." — As soon as they entered the Christian fel- 
lowship, they set about the faithful discharge of every public as 
well as every private, duty, which Christianity enjoined upon them; 
attending to every gospel ordinance, engaging in every religious 
service, taking apart in every devotional exercise, participating in 
every benevolent enterprise, and availing themselves of every 
means of grace, and of every religious opportunity, — sanctioned 
or required by the glorious Gospel of the blessed God. Their 
"obedience to the law of Christ," from the first was entire; affor- 
ding a demonstrative proof of the reality of the divine change 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 177 

wrought in them, — its genuineness being thus demonstrated by its 
fruits unto holiness. " 

We learn finally — perseverance was induced. "They continued 
steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship. 3 ' In a chris- 
tian profession, steadfastness is a cardinal excellency. By giving 
permanency to the character of the believer, perseverance adds 
weight and worth to each of its excellences and to the whole of 
them combined, as consolidated in, and constituting the Christian. 
It is a constantly accumulating, and increasing evidence of the truth 
and reality of the character. The longer a professor of religion 
continues to maintain the integrity of his profession unsullied, the 
stronger and clearer is the proof of the sincerity and genuineness 
of his religion ; and when he thus endures firm unto the end of life 
the evidence is complete, and amounts to a moral demonstration of 
a child of God and an heir of heaven. The three thousand souls, 
added to the church on the day of Pentecost, had this most decis- 
sive evidence of the reality and solidity of their piety. There was 
nothing ephemeral in their religion. The emotions excited at the 
outset of their religious experience, were no flimsy exhalations, at 
first brilliant and beautiful, like "the early dews" of the summers' 
morning, but like them too in their evanescence, "soon passing 
away." The grace they received, they preserved; the obedience 
of the faith with which they set out, they continued to maintain, as 
they proceeded on, in their subsequent progress through life ; the 
vows they made, when first added to the Church, — "to walk wor- 
thy of the vocation wherewith they were called," by " being fruit- 
ful in every good work," — they ever held sacred, and faithfully ad- 
here to, by " a patient continuance in well-doing." Going on, as 
they began, — they w T ere "steadfast in the faith :" — untiring and 
unintimidated, — they were "steadfast, unmoveable, always abound- 
ing in the work of the Lord." The unimpeachable Witness, who 
saw them and familliarly knew them from first to last, and who has 
given us this account of them, that has now been examined by us 
in all its details, winds up the narration, with the happy declaration 
"They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellow- 
ship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." 

Such was the happy nature of that magnificent work of the day 
23 



178 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

of Pentecost, by which about three thousand souls were added to 
the Church of Christ. This was, indeed, and beyond all question, 
a genuine work of God, — a real revival -work. Nothing less, and 
nothing different from a work of this nature, should satisfy the fol- 
lowers of Jesus in the present day. Less than this, — every thing, 
under the name of a religious revival, would be worthless, — a thing 
of naught: different from this, — any thing else, whatever might 
be its name, could not be a work of God. If, for instance, mere 
convictions of guilt are aroused, without awakening that intense 
concern for salvation, that is indispensibly necessary to procure 
conversion, there will be a total failure, as to the attainment of the 
only legitimate object, that Christians ought to have in view : and 
if the conversions, that are effectuated, are not such conversions as 
will evidence their genuineness by " the fruits of the spirit," which 
they yield ; — by the obedience they induce, — and by the perseve- 
rance with which they are followed ; — it is certain, there is not 
such a revival of religion as that of the day of Pentecost, and con- 
sequently there cannot, in fact, be a real revival of religion at all. 
The great model- work is now laid before us, — the pattern of a re- 
vival of religion is now set for our imitation. Whenever, and 
wherever, we seek to promote a revival, let us go according to the 
pattern ; let us conform our practice to the delineations of this 
great original ! 

It is necessary to correct views of this great work, that we 
should notice, 

2. The subjects of the work. 

A novel and curious picture must have been presented to the 
wondering gaze of the astonished spectators, on the day of Pente- 
cost, when these three thousand converts were grouped around the 
Christian speakers. What a medley of different and distant na- 
tions was collected in that mixed multitude ! In the various hues 
and uncouth shapes of their dress, and in the contrast of the diver- 
sified shades and expressions of their countenances, what a motley 
group must they have appeared! Their different manners too, 
their several gestures, and the obliquity of their separate movements 
in giving outward expression to their new-born bliss, must have 
been truly picturesque, worthy of the pencillings of a painter ! — 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 179 

The Christian preachers, — ere they closed their labors and their 
triumphs that " same day," — as they looked down from their ele- 
vated stands, saw clustered around them, the representatives of all 
the then known divisions of the globe, — the natives of the three 
great continents of the earth, Asia, Africa, and Europe. "Parthi- 
ans, Medes, Mesopotamian Syrians, Persians and Arabians," from 
Central Asia, were there ; — and from the Lesser Asia, there were, 
" the dwellers of Judea, of Cappadocia, of Pontus, of Phrygia, and 
of Pamphylia." From Africa, were the Egyptians and Cyrenians. 
From Europe, came the citizens of Rome, the Islanders of Crete, 
and the expatriated Jews residing in the Roman Capital.— Who, — 
at this distance of time, and in these days of modern and modified 
refinement, — can realize, by any effort of imagination, a sight so 
singular, so grotesque, so full of curious contrasts, presenting such 
-a miscellany of diverse costumes, colors, and characteristics, — as 
this company, composed of persons out of every nation under 
heaven, must have seemed to a looker on ? — There was the wild 
"Parthian" rover, fierce of aspect, of independent carriage, his bo- 
som bare, his mantle of fur hung dangling from off his shoulders, 
and in his hands grasping his arrows and his battle-axe. By his 
side was the sturdy " Mede," tall, strong, stern-looking, — accou- 
tred with his antique helm, his rusty side arms, his sash, and his 
sword. The portly Persian, from the cities of " the Elamites," 
fair but effeminate in his visage, arrayed in his robes of silk, and 
tasselled turban, and sandals of embroidered velvet, luxuriously 
quaffing his hooka, — formed a striking offset to the meagre, down- 
cast Syrian, in his cloak of woolsey, awkwardly leaning, with 
folded hands, upon his knotty staff of thorn. The bronzed Jew, in 
his fringed coat, — the sallow Egyptian, in his flouncing gar- 
ments, — the ruddy Roman, in his flowing toga, — the pale faced 
Phrygian, in his cumbrous clothing, — contrasted strangely with the 
dark sweltering Lybian in his snow-white wrapper. The rough 
and robust Mariner from the Cretian Island, in his small red scull- 
cap and his strait-braced jacket, standing erect, with open counte- 
nance and careless air,— was the very antithesis of him from Ara- 
bias' sandy Deserts, who, with his towering spear and unstrung- 
bow in hand, and on his back a well-filled quiver, was restlessly 



180 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

in motion, ever with a lurking suspicion, glancing his small keen 
eye on every hand. — Considering the contrarieties in garb, in per- 
son, and in national peculiarities to be found in this heterogeneous 
assemblage, it is easy to conceive, what opposite movements would 
be manifested, when they were all alike brought to experience 
"the power of God unto salvation!" You may Gonceive of the 
subdued " Parthian," carelessly dropping his arrows and his axe, 
and relaxing the asperity of his harsh features into a half formed 
smile, sobbing aloud his. joy. His next companion, the Mede, 
hurling his helm to the ground, and, with a hasty hand, unloosing 
his hostile weapons from his girdle, and flinging them away, — 
you may suppose, — sunk at once to his knees, and there in silent 
rapture, — with tears gushing from eyes that never wept before, 
and complacency beaming in the countenance that till now only 
wore a savage frown, — luxuriating in " the souls' calm sunshine, 
and the heart-felt joy" that religion gives. Nor would it have 
been strange, if the proud Persian, — now brought down to lowli- 
ness of spirit, by grace Divine, and convinced of the folly of the 
pride of dress, and the vanity of the pedantry of pride, — should 
have been seen, — careless now about his caftan, his draperies and 
his damasks, — rolling himself, for very excess of joy, in the dust 
of the street. And the poor peasant, from the plains of Mesopo- 
tamia, — forgetting his fathers' house, and the pleasant borders of 
the deep flowing Euphrates, and the sunny banks of the rapid Ti- 
gris, — methinks, burthened and almost bewildered with his surpri- 
sing, overwhelming delight, might have been beheld, rushing, and 
leaping, and reeling like a very inebriate. The deep-toned voice 
of the grace-freed Jew, — I imagine, — rose above all the noise of 
the bustle and murmuring of the crowd, in shouting his soul- 
delighted hallelujahs ; while the enervated sons of Egypt would 
chime in, with their softer notes of passionate praise; and the ebon 
countenances of Africa's children would brighten well nigh to sun- 
beam lustre, as their lusty lungs roared forth the torrents of their 
teeming joy ; and then clear and distinct, — the rich octave of the 
holy concert, — tb e full voice of the happy Roman might be heard, 
with clapping hands and swinging porte, shout his triumphe ! O 
triumphe! Glory! Glory! — Glory to God! Would not the open- 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 181 

liearted seaman from the Grecian Isle, be seen, grasping every 
hand he could reach, and greeting every person he met with, in 
the exuberancy of his buoyant gladness ? — and the Tent-dwellers 
of the Arabian Deserts, — I ween, — couched, at once, their length- 
ened Jances, and casting off their accustomed reserve, caught in 
their enfolding arms, and embraced, without discrimination, the 
stranger and their fellows, in one irrepressible burst of new and 
generous emotion! — Such w r ere the adventitious or intrinsic fea- 
tures of the subjects of this great work: — what was their moral 
state ? 

The general classification of mankind according to their moral 
condition, or in reference to the amount of their religious obliga- 
tions, divides them into two great sections, — those who are privile- 
ged with, and those who are destitute of, the light, and ordinances, 
and services of revealed religion. Of course, those individuals 
included in the latter class, being without the knowledge and the 
means of grace which Christianity furnishes, must be ignorant and 
out of the way. Nor are all, w T ho are numbered among the more 
favored section of the human race, savingly enlightened and truly 
devoted to God ; but on the contrary, a vast majority, with the 
noon-tide light of revelation pouring into their minds, and every 
facility for becoming religious crowding about them, and opportu- 
nities the most suitable and inviting ever offering to them, — yet 
"love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil;" 
and remain " without God and without hope in the world," as 
completely as those, to whom the Christian revelation never im- 
parted its illumination. The three thousand persons, who, after 
having been convicted, and converted, on the day of Pentecost, 
were "the same day added to the Church," had been prior to this 
time, of these two distinct, though not essentially different classes. 
Some of these had previously enjoyed religious opportunities, but 
had not profited by them ; — while the remainder had never been 
favored with the privileges of religion, and for want of proper 
means and opportunities, had been heretofore ready to perish sim- 
ply " for lack of knowledge." 

A part, and perhaps a considerable portion of those, who, in 
this great work, were converted and christianized, — were, those 



182 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

worst of offenders, — sinners against light and knowledge ; hav- 
ing long enjoyed the means and ministry of religion, without 
profit or amendment. — These were the Jewish converts. — To 
them had been committed the oracles of God. His temple was 
among them. His worship and ordinances were established in 
their midst. His servants the Prophets, had been sent to them, 
" rising up early and sending them." They had thus had frequent 
and favorable opportunities to become religious ; — but would not. 
With all their means of grace, they still had coutinued to be " a 
disobedient and a gainsaying people." Their religious privileges 
had been lost upon them. Their prophets had labored for them in 
vain. They were barren fig-trees in the Lords' vineyard, that 
brought forth no fruit in their season. They were as the wicked 
husbandmen, that neither paid the Lord of the vineyard his dues, 
nor heeded the frequent messages he sent. 

The balance of these three thousand were depraved and guilty 
sinners, like the others ; but they were less criminal, and probably 
were less hardened, because they never before had an opportunity 
"to know the Lord," and in consequence, were, "alienated from 
the life of God through the ignorance that was in them." These 
were the Gentile converts. — They had come up to Jerusalem from 
every quarter of the world. They were of almost every pagan na- 
tion under heaven. The countries, where they had their birth and 
their abiding homes, were covered with gross moral darkness. In 
their native lands, the true God was scarcely, if at all known ; his 
word had never been declared; his prophets had never been 
heard ; and, as the necessary consequence of this absence of the 
light of revealed truth and the services of the true religion, " the 
people were sitting in darkness and the shadow of death." Nor 
is it improbable, that these poor blind, bewildered Gentiles were 
never before acquainted with as much of revealed truth as they 
had heard now, in Peters' one brief sermon. They were ignorant 
superstitious pagans up to this day, benighted with heathenish 
darkness, and "perishing for lack of knowledge." 

These were the characters, diverse, though not different essen- 
tially, who became the subjects of the magnificent spiritual move- 
ment of the day of Pentecost. — A modern revival of religion will 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 183 

operate upon similar characters in the present day. In all places, 
there are persons nearly parallel, in their moral condition, to these 
unbelieving Jews and these ignorant Pagans, who formed, after 
their conversion, that illustrious company of three thousand souls, 
added to the Church. How many, in the present day, among us, 
are there, who have long sat under the sound of the Gospel, — are 
familiarly acquainted with the doctrines and requirements of reli- 
gion, — have been privileged, from their childhood, with the means 
of grace and religious opportunities, but are still without religion ? 
Like the hardened and disobedient Jews, — they have resisted the 
grace of God, strove against the monitions of conscience, abused 
their superior light and privileges, and obstinately refused to " let 
the goodness of God lead them to repentance." — Are there not too, 
even in this day of spiritual illumination, in this land so highly 
favored with the abundance of religious privileges, persons, who, 
by reason of their defective education, or distance from, or disre- 
gard of, the public ministrations of the Gospel, are but one remove 
from the dark deluded heathen in their moral blindness and spirit- 
ual ignorance ? " The God of this world hath blinded their 
minds;" — "the light in them is darkness;" " and how gross is 
that darkness!" — Both these classes of characters, the negligent 
and the ignorant, — corresponding with the Jewish and Gentile 
converts of the day of Pentecost, — are the subjects for a modern 
revival of religion. Our Christian regards should embrace, — our 
constant prayers should include both these classes. For both we 
should wrestle with God ; — for both we should strive in our labors 
of love ; — upon both, may the Holy Ghost descend and work the 
wonderous change of a real conversion ! 

This great work however will not yet be properly understood, if 
we do not notice, 

3. The author of the work. 

This work was obviously supernatural. No human power, — 
no combination of talents, — no concentration or complication of 
finite agencies, were adequate to so stupeudous a result. All, who 
witnessed the great moral phrenomenon, at once concluded, that 
natural means were utterly incapable of its production. The sa- 
cred Narrator says, — " They were all amazed and in doubt, saying 



184 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS, 

one to another, what meaneth this ?" The apostles did not attempt 
to conceal the fact of its divine causation. They did not wish oth- 
ers to attribute this mighty movement to any talents or power 
which they had, independent of a higher agency. They would 
not allow any human agent to claim the authorship of this more 
than human work. They were far enough from taking this honor 
to themselves. — With a promptitude and candor, that evinced alike 
their sincerity and humility, theyunreluctantly exclaimed, — "This- 
is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel, and it shall come to 
pass in the last days days, saith God, that I will pour out of my 
spirit upon all flesh." — Thus was the work declared to be truly 
Divine. " The Spirit poured out, — or, as in another place expres- 
sed, "The holy Ghost shed forth,"— or, as elsewhere stated, "the 
power received from the Father,"— this, was the supernal energy, 
which accomplished this marvellci:s work. It was the undoubted 
work of the Lord God Almighty ! It was the convincing influence 
of his great Spirit, — "sharper than a two edged sword," — that 
pierced their wounded hearts ! The mighty quickening of his 
vital energy " working in them," it was, that aroused their sa- 
ving concern ! It was his converting grace, that brought them 
through the travail of the spiritual birth, to rejoice in the newness 
of a spiritual life ! " God worked in them to will and to do of his 
good pleasure," while they "worked out their own salvation with 
fear and trembling." 

If a work of the same nature is again effected, at any time, or 
in any place, or among any people, it must be accomplished by 
the saving energy of the same Divine Agency. We, as Methodists 
are sometimes charged, and oftener suspected, with being mere 
W T orkmongers, guilty of the presumption of attempting the work 
of conversion alone, by ourselves ; and blameable for the folly of 
expecting its accomplishment by our own unaided powers and ef- 
forts. No imputation could be more gratuitous and groundless. — 
We believe, that God does every thing in the process of personal 
salvation, by means of agencies and instrumentalities ; — nothing 
directly or immediately by his own bare omnipitence ; that the 
means, agents, and instruments, by which he operates for the con- 
vertion of sinners, are such in their nature and efficiency, as are 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 185 

calculated to effect the object to be accomplished, and also are 
such, in their qualities and mode of operation, as are suited to the 
moral and mental faculties of the person to be acted upon ; that 
as sheer force would not be suitable to be applied to a moral na- 
ture, that is, and must be free, — so those appliances of means, 
that are repugnant, or not in accordance with, the natural turn, 
the constitutional temperament, the natural tastes, the mental pecu- 
liarities, or the cast of the intellect and of the passions of the indi- 
viduals, to be plied by those means, — would be equally unsuitable. 
We therefore, in seekingthe conversion of the unconverted, select 
those methods of appeal and those modes of exercise, which, to 
our judgement, under the guidance of wisdom from above, appear 
to correspond withthe different avenues of access to the heart and 
intellect, to be found in the different constitutional characteristics 
of different individuals; at the same time relying for our success, 
with an entire dependence upon that Divine influence, without which 
the best of means, — nay, all means must utterly fail. None can 
believe more fully, or more firmly, than we do, that "it is not by 
might, nor by power, but by the spirit of the living God." None 
can, more than w r e do, exemplify the persuasion, "Paul may plant, 
and Apollos water, but God himself giveth the increase." Our 
ways, as a body of Christians, are our witnesses to the sincerity, 
as well as the strength, of our conviction upon this subject. Let 
our constant and frequent assemblings, for the express purpose of 
supplicating the down-shedding of the spirit, testify: let the fer- 
vency, and numberless reiterations, of our petitions to the Supreme 
source of all gracious influences, for the manifestation of his con- 
verting energies, tell: let the ascriptions of our praises, that give 
to God all the glory of the sinners' salvation, prove: let each, — 
let all these exercises of ours, demonstrate, how thorough is our 
conviction, that without the grace of God, " we can do nothing" 
toward the regeneration of the carnal mind of the natural man. — 
Why so many meetings for prayer? Wherefore are we so frequent- 
ly on our knees in the attitude of supplication ? What mean our 
loud and repeated cries to God for his spirit to be poured out? — - 
How are all these constant practices of Methodists to be explain- 
ed, if their ruling sentiment, that governed them in all their ways, 
24 



186 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

was not that great trueism of Christianity, "God worketh all in- all!" 
"For of him and through him, and to him are all things: to whom 
be glory forever. Amen. 

Having examined the nature, the subject and the author of this 
magnificent work of grace, — to complete our views, we must ad- 
vance another step and contemplate 

II. The special instrumentality by which the work was accom- 
plished. 

Christians in general, and Christian Ministers in particular, are 
"workers together with God." The Divine Being works in them, 
through them, — by them ! He accomplishes the purposes of his 
mercy and of his grace, in the calling and conversion of sinners, 
by imparting an energy and communicating an influence, effectual 
for his purpose, to the seperate and combined efforts of his own re- 
generated people. It was so in this instance. Most manifestly, 
the work was Hisl He, its author, — its finisher, He! yet notwith- 
standing its accomplishment was brought about by human instru- 
mentality. Both in its first commencement, — in the successive 
stages of its progress, — and in its full consummation, — the agency 
of man was employed; and without the means furnished by hu- 
man agency for effecting this work, it neither would have been 
begun, — nor carried on, — nor completed. What then were the 
means employed, when these three thousand souls were converted 
and added to the church? The context gives the answer in full: 
Faith was exercised, — Prayer was made, — The Gospel was preach- 
ed, — and the whole church was engaged in a unanimous and ac- 
tive co-operation. 

1. Faith was exercised. 

The death and burial of the Savior, by depriving his few feeble 
followers of his personal presence, at first dispirited and discour- 
aged them. But when the good intelligence reached them, — "He 
is risen, — He has left the sepulchre," — their fainting hopes reviv- 
ed; and after they had seen him "ascend up on high," and with 
their own eyes beheld him "received into glory," — their confi- 
dence in him, and in the words he had spoken, was completely 
and triumphantly established. Certain now that he had not de- 
ceived them with vain pretensions, — sure now that he would ver- 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 187 

ify -all the assurances he had given to them, during his intercourse 
with them while on earth; — this small, forlorn company of one 
hundred and twenty,— in this their re-assured confidence, — "con- 
tinued together," meeting together with one accord in one place, 
in "an upper room" in Jerusalem from the time of Christ's as- 
cension. Besides their attachment for each other as loving 
friends, — which would naturally lead them to seek each others 
society; and the social tendencies of their religious exercises, — 
which inspire, by their happyfying influence, an increasing de- 
sire for renewed communion with kindred spirits ; and the power 
of sympathy under the pressure of a common affliction, — which 
involuntary draws the sufferers mutually the one to the other for 
the interchange of their thoughts and the expressions of condo- 
lence: — besides all these considerations, — there was a more par- 
ticular and paramount reason, which assembled them together, 
and kept them assembled from day to day. They met thus, and 
continued on meeting thus daily, because they were waiting for 
the fulfilment of a promise, that their great and good Master had, 
during his stay with them, frequently repeated to them. This 
promise, — the expected fulfilment of which induced them to per- 
sist and to persevere in their assembling together, — was the prom- 
ise of the gift of the Holy Ghost. "Depart not from Jerusalem," 
said Jesus to his followers ; " but wait for the promise of the Fath- 
er," w 7 hich jsaith he, " ye have heard of me, — Ye shall be bap- 
tized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." This great 
and precious promise, — in repeating w r hich, Jesus had repeatedly 
pledged himself to them, that the Holy Ghost should be shed 
forth upon them at no very distant day,--they confidently believ- 
ed, would be fulfilled, certainly and speedily, in their own happy 
experience. In this confidence they assumed, and kept in, a 
waiting posture. So sure were they, that the Holy Ghost would 
come according to the Divine promise, they placed themselves, 
and remained, in a stale of readiness to receive him, earnestly 
looking for his coming daily and hourly. As evidence, at once 
of the sincerity and of the strength of their faith in that promise of 
the Father which the Savior had so often endorsed to them, — 
they still abode in Jerusalem ; — they still continued together in 



188 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

their church-capacity ; — they still met together with one accord m 
one place; — they still kept waiting and looking with a believing 
expectancy; — until their faith received its realization and its re- 
ward, in the descent of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost! 
It was done unto them according to their faith. Had they not 
believed the Saviors' word; had they not waited for the fulfilment 
of "the promise of the Father;" had they not abode still in Jeru- 
salem, in the expectancy of faith ; — had they concluded, that it 
was incredible, or uncertain, that the spiritual baptism, promised 
to them, would ever be realized by them, and in consequence of 
this loss of confidence in Christs' words, had they dissolved their 
church-connexion, disbanded as a religious society, and departed 
every one to his ovyn home; — had they thus yielded to doubt, and 
despondency, and the disobedience arising from unbelief, — in- 
stead of believing, as they did believe, with an untiring and indom- 
itable confidence, which kept them together and spirited them on 
to continued perseverance in their prescribed exercises,— the Di- 
vine Spirit could not have come upon them! Their faith secured 
the accomplishment ol the promise, — their faith brought the prom- 
ised blessing down upon them, — their faith fetched forth this out- 
pouring of the Holy Ghost. They believed in Jesus ; — and accor- 
ding to their faith in his word, it was performed for them. 

Let us go and do likewise. Be not faithless but believing. — 
"The Spirit shall be poured out on all flesh :" — "only believe." 
" Believe, and it shall be done, according to your faith." 

In my private musings upon this precious paragraph of Ecclesi- 
astical history, my soul has often been thrilled with emotions of 
admiring delight at the invincible firmness, — the heroic courage, — 
the cool, steady determination of this little, lone band of the Disci- 
ples of Jesus! Assembled in the low, confined, inconvenient attic, 
or garret, — of some poor private dwelling,— in some dark, narrow, 
retired lane or alley of the great city ; — unable, — on account of 
their poverty, — or not daring, by reason of intimidation — to pro- 
cure another, better, and more public place of meeting; — not more 
in number than the household servants of one of the rulers of their 
nation ; — without property, without talent, without influence, with- 
out protection ; — " a sect every where spoken against ;" — their 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. ISO 

Leader gone from them ; — the world on all sides frowning upon 
them ; — the government, the priest-hood, and even the vulgar pop- 
ulace, all set against them and ready to overwhelm them! — ah! — 
their every prospect was dark, dark, only dark! and every circum- 
stance of theirs was calculated only, to plunge them into despon- 
dency, and to drive them from duty. Yes! all, all, was unpromi- 
ising, cheerless, discouraging, intimidating: — but what of this? — 
They had deposited with them a. promise! It was the promise of 
him, w r ho had never deceived them! — his promise, who, they were 
quite confident, would not yet disappoint them ! — This was 
enough, — abundantly enough for them ! With such a promise, in 
certain expectation of fulfilment, appearances w T ent for nothing ! — 
"for they endured as seeing him that is invisible." Want of pat- 
ronage, want of talent, want of weight in the community, w 7 ant of 
numbers in the Church, w T ant of an appropriate and commodious 
house for their religious meetings, want of security from distur- 
bance, insult and persecution, — all, ail, w 7 ere as nothing to them ! 
Why should they fear ? What did they care ? — Jesus had prom- 
ised them ; he would certainly do as he had said ; — the promise 
was sure, — its fulfilment w T as most certain : and therefore in spite 
of every discouragement, — in the face of all the dark array of 
•opposing circumstances, — they held on, " holding fast the begin- 
ning of their confidence firm unto the end !" — 0, ye little, cour- 
ageous band, great was your faith ! Your triumphant trust in his 
promise, that never fails, won "the victory, even your faith." — 
Surely "all things are possible to him, that believeth !"" Let us 
then "have faith in God." He has promised, and he will bring 
it to pass ! He has declared, "the people shall be volunteers," — 
to seek freely his saving grace, and to enlist willingly in the fel- 
lowship of his Church, — " in the day of his power." He also will 
do this very thing : — " only believe !" 

Among the means employed to accomplish this work of grace, 
it should be noted, 

2. Prayer w T as offered. 

The confidence of these first Christians, in the Divine promise, 
did not paralyze, or damp their energies. Their faith, strong, and 
steadfast as it was, did not make them indolent. No, no ! Theirs 



190 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

was such a faith in Gods' promise as fired their hearts with the 
fervor of importunity, and urged them on to a corresponding and 
persevering exertion. They wailed indeed for the accomplishment 
of the promise of the Father ; but the time, they spent in waiting, 
was well employed. Daring the period of the suspension of the 
promise, while they waited, — they did not go to sleep in indolent 
anticipation of the event; — they met together with one accord, but 
it was not to sit down in sluggish inaction ; — they kept on meeting 
and waiting day after day for nearly two months, but it was not 
for the purpose of lounging away the interim, in dreamy specula- 
tions, in unfeeling silence, or in unemployed vacancy, — cherishing 
the perverse persuasion, that the consummation would come un- 
sought, unsolicited, unasked, unprayed for and unlabored for ! O 
no! — the first followers of Jesus were better schooled! As they 
waited, they prayed ; when they met together, they wrestled 
together with God ; while they continued daily with one accord in 
one place, they daily continued to plead with God for the fulfil- 
ment of his word, in frequent, fervent, persevering, united, unde- 
niable intercessions for the Spirit. The narrative assures us, that 
" they continued daily with one accord in prayer and in supplica- 
tions. 5 ' — A knowledge of the fact, that God is an independent 
Sovereign, who can give his Holy Spirit, when, wiiere, and as he 
thinks fit, — did not prevent these divinely taught Christians from 
offering their prayers to God, or hinder, in the least, their constant 
and urgent importunity in prayer. Neither did the belief, that 
the Father could not be prevailed upon to bestow his Holy Spirit 
sooner than the time appointed for the bestowment, at all hamper 
their efforts, or, in the smallest degree, cool their zeal, abate their 
energy, or make them slacken their exertions in seeking the prom- 
ised blessing ! No, no ! — They had not so learned of Christ. — 
The Lessons taught them by their Divine Master, had made them 
•superior to all such paralyzing absurdities. It was sufficient for 
them, that Jesus had taught, they should "always pray and never 
faint." They were satisfied, what was their duty when they re- 
membered his w 7 ords, "How much more shall your heavenly 
Father give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him : Ask, and ye 
shall receive ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 191 

opened unto you." — From these teachings of their Divine teacher, 
they had learned their duty in reference to " the promise of the 
Father ;" and putting into practice these lessons, which he had 
taught them, they betook themselves to prayer and supplication, — ■ 
" praying with all prayer and supplication of the spirit, — with a 
vehemence and resolution, as if they really had thought, they had 
Deity to win over to their wishes, or as if they had supposed, that 
all the purposes and promises of the Almighty w T ere at the beck of 
their prayers. yes ! they were right,— they displayed the good 
effects of their good tutorage, in thus praying, while they waited, 
;and waiting, as they prayed, for the fulfilment of " the promise 
of the Father." They clearly exemplified a the wisdom from 
above," — exhibiting, in the fact, a fine superiority to all "fleshly 
wisdom," when they so importunately prayed for what God had so 
positively promised, and when they pressed their suit before God 
with all the intensity of a sacred fervor, w T hile " the promise tarri- 
ed," till its fulfilment came. The result demonstrates the propri- 
ety as well as the profitableness of their practice. Settle it there- 
fore in your minds, as an irrefragable and incontrovertible trueism ; 
that the promised blessing can only come in answer to prayer! It 
is not for us to sit down in apathy and inactivity, because we 
know that " no man cometh to Christ, except the Father draw 
him ;" or because w 7 e read, that those " that believe on his name 
are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of 
man, but of God ;" or because we are told, "It is not of him that 
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." 
God's sovereignty is unquestionable ; — but it can never supercede 
our agency in the way of duty. It is of the very nature of mercy; 
ean only be exercised in acts of grace, and consists simply in an 
absolute liberty, or in an infinite freedom, to display the kindness 
of his benevolence, as much, as often, and as gratuitously, as he 
chooses. How this attribute of the Divine Nature can be so con- 
strued, as to annul our duty, which has been chosen and fixed in 
the exercise of the attribute itself, w 7 ould be hard to say ! The 
sovereignty of God enjoins upon us, "Be always abounding in the 
work of the Lord ; for as much as ye know that your labor is not 
vain in the Lord;" — how this sovereign fiat of the Lord can be set 



192 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS.- 

aside, or be made nugatory, by the sovereignty that sent it forthy 
in any view of the attribute or of its proper prerogatives, in such a 
manner as to render, the enjoined " abounding in the work of the 
Lord" uselessly " vain," and, of course, the abstaining from doing 
the work of the Lord necessarily good, is indeed an inexplicable 
solecism. — Duty is ours, as truly as sovereignty belongs to God : 
and while we may be assured, that our duty and Gods' sovereign- 
ty, in no case, nor in any measure, clash, or cross each others' 
operations ; — let us ever remember, our own great concern is with 
ourselves, and should be chiefly fixed upon what duty claims from 
us. We may be quite certain, that without any care, or solicitude, 
or pains-taking, or persuasion from us, God, who is great in his- 
goodness and good in his greatness, will not fail to act up to his 
character, and will do nothing but what is right, in " fulfiling the 
good pleasure of his goodness." It is morally certain, "He can- 
not deny himself;" and therefore in no case will he ever be found 
to have acted contrary to the grace, mercy, and love which he has- 
declared himself to possess. Let us then leave the sovereign God 
to the exercise of his own prerogatives, and attend to what alone 
concerns ourselves — our duty ! — Duty calls to us, and its voice not 
to be misunderstood, nor yet to be evaded, demands, " pray with- 
out ceasing ;" — "Be instant in prayer; — praying, with all prayer 
and supplication in the spirit." "I exhort therefore that, first of 
all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, — be made for all men." 
Of the means and for the accomplishment of this great work, it 
is to be observed, 

3. The Gospel was preached. 

The instrumentality, directly and immediately effectuating the 
conviction, the concern, and the conversion of the three thousand 
souls added to the Church on the day of Pentecost, was that epi- 
tome of the Gospel, contained in the sermon of Peter. "When 
they heard this," — says Luke, — " they were pricked in their hearts, 
and said men and brethren what shall we do? — It is not however 
probable, that Peter was the only preacher on this great occasion. 
Several considerations would rather induce us to suppose, that all 
the male members of the Church, or at least all the twelve apos- 
tles, were simultaneously employed in speaking, during the entire 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 193 

services of the day. It is indeed asserted in the narrative, that 
Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice ;" but 
though this language only informs us that Peter did preach, and 
that his Brethren rose to their feet at the same time he stood up, 
without saying any thing about their preaching ; it is to be obser- 
ved, there is nothing expressed or even intimated in these words, 
nor indeed in any other part of the narrative, to disprove the preach- 
ing of, at least, the other Apostles; and the fact asserted, that "the 
eleven" assumed a standing posture with Peter, rather favors, by 
implication, the notion, that they as well as Peter, and also at the 
same time with him, addressed the assembled multitude. It may 
be inferred, that the sentiments of the short, simple, scriptural dis- 
course, which is ascribed to Peter, were, in substance, repeated 
by all the other brethren, at the same time, in different languages, 
to seperate sections of this vast mixed multitude. The narrative 
could not easily be explained in any other way. The voice of one 
man, however strong and clear, could not have been heard distinct- 
ly by more than a mere fraction of that immense assembly, which 
crowded around the Apostles, — an assembly probably numbering 
not less than fifty or eighty thousand persons. That all might hear 
so as to understand the words spoken, it is obvious, more than one 
speaker must have addressed them. Besides, this vast concourse 
is said to have consisted of persons from various foreigu countries, 
speaking a great number of different languages; and these For- 
eigners, great and numerous as were their diversities of speech, 
are declared to have been all addressed "in their own tongues 
wherein they were born:" — could this have been the fact, if there 
had been only one speaker? — If all had been spoken to "in their 
own tongues" by one, and no more than one speaker, the senti- 
ments of Peters' sermon must have been rehearsed again, and again 
and over again, in as many different repititions as there were dif- 
ferent languages spoken by the persons present: but since all the 
speaking was done in one and the same day, and the probability 
is, that a considerable part of that day was spent before the preach- 
ing began; — it is demonstrable, that the time, indicated in the nar- 
rative, was not sufficient for so many repetitions of this sermon, 
brief as it was. The inference therefore forces itself upon us, that 
25 



194 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

the preaching of Peter is alone noted, and the words of his dis- 
course are alone recorded, by the sacred narrative, simply because 
Peter took the lead in the services, and probably presided over the 
meeting; but that all the rest of the brethren, following the drift, 
and pursuing the same strain, as Peter's discourse, preached seve- 
rally as well as Peter. It may be presumed, that each one of the 
christian speakers took his stand, separate and at a distance from 
the others, in a different part of this vast congregation and by him- 
self, thus detached from the rest. He called around him all present 
who spoke one particular dialect or language, and "in their own 
tongue," discoursed to them upon "the wonderful works of God." 
With Peter in a central and prominent position, whence he could 
take a view of the whole assembly, and where probably he had 
immediately about him "those of the circumcision," who were ac- 
quainted with "the Hebrew tongue," — you may suppose, James in 
one place, surrounded by Europeans ; and in another place, John 
in the midst of a cluster of Asiatics: — in an opposite direction, 
Andrew is calling to a group of the descendants of Ham ; and a 
little farther off, Philip is arousing the sons of the Desert, the pos- 
terity of Ishmael: — here stands Thomas beset with a band of Par- 
thians ; — there, on the right side, removed to a short distance, is 
Bartholomew preaching repentance to a company of Medes ; on 
the left, a party of Persians are pressing around Matthew: — James 
the Less, at one extremity of the concourse, has a position among 
a number of Mesopotamians ; — at another point, Simon has collec- 
ted, near his stand, several Phrygians : — and Jude is hemmed 
about with a crowding circle of Cretians, at the outskirts of the 
mass of beings, on the other side. Thus we may conceive "the 
eleven, with Peter, standing up, lifted up their voice," and preach- 
ed, — each to his own separate company of hearers, "in their own 
tongue ;" discoursing to them upon "the wonderful works of God." 
The simple preaching of the word then was the special and di- 
rect instrumentality employed to accomplish this great work of 
God. Nothing awfully vast, or dreadfully prodigious was here. 
No overwhelming phenomena, — no fearful convulsion, no tremen- 
dous travail of nature, — no appalling sights, and sounds, and 
shocks, calculated to stun the senses, and to thrill with horror the 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 195 

heart; — no thunder rolled, — no lightning glared, — no eclipse 
gloomed, — no trump in the air, and no voice from heaven, start- 
led : — no ! — no ! — all that was effected, was done by a short, plain 
scriptural address! Like all other magnificent results, that are 
produced by a Divine agency, the means employed were exceed- 
ingly simple. The sermon, attributed to Peter, is not remarkable 
for any thing, so much as for its unpretending simplicity. In this 
sermon, — instrumentally effecting so magnificent a result,— there 
are no marks of genius, — no flashes of eloquence, — no poetic 
nights, — no touches of the sublime, — no profound sentiment, — no 
deep logic, — no mighty conceptions ; — it is even destitute of nov- 
elties, which might perhaps at such a time, be expected ! This 
discourse, in its sentiments and style, so simple, so common, so 
unostentatious, and with so little pretensions to literary merits, — 
was the instrument directly and immediately productive of a moral 
revolution, in which three thousand souls were transformed into 
" new creatures," — an immense effect, through a small instrumen- 
tality, that has astonished all in every following age down to our 
day. The result would be inexplicable, to us, and to all, if we 
had not known, that " the word of God is mighty and powerful 
through God !" " For the preaching of the cross, — unto them that 
are saved, — is the power of God !" 

To complete the sum of instrumentalities, that contributed to the 
completion of this great work, we must not overlook the last to be 
cited : 

4. The whole Church was engaged in a unanimous and active 
co-operation. 

This great, standard, revival of religion was the product of the 
conjoint efforts of all the members of the Christian Church, male 
and female, — official and unofficial. It was the general result of 
the combined exertions of the whole community of Christians. 
The narrative, specifies, " they all, — began to speak with other 
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance ;"" — a statement which 
positively asserts, that all the persons, who were then included in 
the fellowship of the Church, without distinction of sex, or of office, 
were engaged in speaking to the mixed multitude "in their own 
tongue wherein they w T ere born. 'V— " Being filled with the Holy 



196 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

Ghost, they all began to speak ;" — and the language they used, 
when they spoke, was that of "other tongues," — corresponding 
with "the many tongues" of this "mixed multitude." This then 
sufficiently proves, that the exercises of this memorable service 
were not engrossed by the Apostles, or the Evangelists, to the ex- 
clusion of all the unofficial members ; but that every individual of 
the whole membership, not excepting the females, participated, as 
well as the ordained preachers, in these public labors.— So when 
the anxious souls made their inquiries, they addressed themselves 
to "the Men and Brethren," — a style of address, which supposes, 
that the Members in common were appealed to, and which this 
still further sanctions the notion, that all the membership were, 
without any exceptions, actively engaged in promoting and carry- 
ing on this good work. — There was a unanimous and universal 
concurrence and co-operation among all the members of the entire 
Church. No doubt, there was a difference in their exercises ; 
each member exercising such gifts and talents as he, or she, natu- 
rally possessed, and engaging in such services as seemed best 
suited to his, or her, respective capabilities, — " according as the 
Spirit gave them utterance." — Among them, "there was a diver- 
sity of gifts," and "differences of administration," and " diversi- 
ties of operations ;" — "but by the manifestation of the Spirit given 
to every one to profit withal," "God worked all by all." None 
were unemployed ; — none were uninterested ; — none were afraid 
to engage ; — none refused to do what they could ; — none thought 
themselves excused from taking a part in the exercises ; — none, 
were there, who did not delight, and feel themselves honored in 
the work ! " There was no schism in the body" of that first 
infant Church! — All were alive ; — ail were active ; — all were "up 
and doing ;" — all helped on the mighty impulse, that at length 
bore away three thousand souls, " into captivity to the law of 
Christ." — All ? — yes ! every individual member of the Church ; — 
every Brother and Sister, every Preacher, and every person belong- 
ing to that primitive Church ; — all helped : — some in one way, and 
others, in another way; some by preaching, — others by praying ; 
some by exhortation generally, — others by conversation personally; 
some by pleading, — others by prophecying; some by general invi- 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 197 

tation, — others by private solicitations ; some by teaching,— others 
by warning; — some by gentleness, — others by austerity; some by 
sympathy, — others by power. All were busy! All were burden- 
bearers ! All were beyond themselves ! All were blessed ! All 
were a blessing! All brought on this big, blissful, benevolent 
result ! All worked, — all together worked, — and God worked in 
them all, and God worked by them all: — the sublime sequence 
has already been stated, — " about three thousand souls," — first 
convicted, then concerned, finally converted, — " the same day 
were added" to the Church, "such as shall be the saved." 

Here then is the unfading method for promoting a real revival of 
■religion. Let faith in the Divine promise be exercised ; — pray 
without ceasing, and with one accord ; — let the Gospel be pro- 
claimed ; — and especially and most particularly, let every member 
of the Church be engaged, — be harmoniously, earnestly, actively 
engaged : — and there will be sure to come a great and powerful 
revival movement, akin to that of Pentecost. 

It only remains for us to notice, 

III. The different impressions which the work produced. 

Procedures, which produce the same impressions upon similar 
persons, must be the same in kind. If two separate operations be 
found to have a precisely similar effect upon the thoughts and feel- 
ings of the same sort of spectators, — the conclusion would be rea- 
sonable, — that these two operations must be essentially the same ; 
or of the same nature. Works different in kind, or dissimilar in 
nature, could never produce the same identical impressions upon 
persons similarly constituted : since no one could suppose, that an 
act, or a series of actions, cruel in themselves, would be regarded, 
by a humane man, with thoughts and feelings, precisely such as 
would be excited in him by viewing a performance, or a number 
of performances, of a tender or kindly character : and if a person 
of inhuman disposition should be gratified by this cruel conduct, 
we should not expect that, — retaining the same disposition, this 
inhuman person would be equally gratified with the kind and 
tender actions ; — nay we should be certain, that these actions of 
kindness and of tenderness would be at least, indifferent, if not 
repulsive to him. The conclusion therefore seems inevitable, that 



198 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

two separate operations must be the same in kind, if they produce 
similar impressions upon the same sort of persons. Nor would our 
confidence in this conclusion be at all weakened, if the first of 
these two operations were found to have taken place more than 
eighteen hundred years before the second of these operations ; 
provided that, both the operations impressed similar characters in 
the same way : neither would the fact, that one of the operations 
occurred in the present day, among persons of this country, while 
the other operation transpired, among a foreign people, in a very 
distant country, affect, in any degree, the certainty of this conclusion; 
because date and locality do not belong to the nature of the opera- 
tions, and, being no more than mere incidents, extraneous to the 
qualities of the actions, could have no influence upon the kind of 
impressions they produce. The proposition then appears unques- 
tionable, that when persons of a similar mental and moral charac- 
ter are affected precisely in the same manner by two seperate 
operations — the one of these operations must be of the same nature 
as the other of the operations, even though the former operation, 
and those who were its observers, were in a remote country, eigh- 
teen hundred years ago, — and the latter of the operations, with its 
beholders, be here among us, at the present time. 

The genuineness of revivals of religion in the present day may 
be clearly established upon this plain proposition. The impres- 
sions made upon the minds of those, who were present and eye- 
witnesses of the work of grace, on the day of Pentecost, are men- 
tioned in the narrative subjoined to the text. A passing glance at 
the record of these impressions will serve the purpose of showing 
the identity, or sameness between this first and greatest revival, 
and the religious movements, which are denominated revivals of 
religion in modern times ; and as the revival of the day of Pente- 
cost was an undoubted work of God, — being the unquestioned and 
unquestionable operation of his Holy Spirit, — if modern revivals be 
identical, they too, — it is equally certain, — must be of God, and 
must proceed from the agency of the Holy Ghost. It will be seen, 
that the feelings, that were elicited from the spectators, and the 
remarks that were called forth, by this divine movement on the day 
of Pentecost, are precisely such feelings and remarks as are now 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS 199 

excited in corresponding characters by a work of reformation, or a 
powerful and extensive revival of the present day: and as the same 
impressions cannot be educed by two works, which are not the 
same in kind, — the inference is unavoidable, that modern revivals 
must be essentially the same as that model of revivals that occur- 
red on the day of Pentecost ; because they both make one impres- 
sion upon the same characters. On three distinct classes of Ob- 
servers, — the impressions were identical ; on Members of the 
Church, — on Avowed Gainsayers, — and on the community at 
large. 

Note the impression, produced by a revival work, upon 

1. The recognized Members of the Church. 

Although the infant Church at Jerusalem, had been so long ho- 
ping, and praying — waiting, and preparing, for the descent of the 
Holy Ghost ; — when his wonder-working influences did at length 
come, and began to operate in power, the whole Church seemed as 
if taken by surprise! — When their hopes were actually realized — 
when the answer of their prayers really did come ; — when that for 
w T hich they had been watching and waiting so many days, and 
weeks, did eventually arrive, — they all appear to have been thrown 
into a perplexity, or puzzle. The record says, " They were all in 
doubt ;" — "they all marvelled and were amazed;" — they inquired, 
" What meaneth this ?" — The operations of " the good Spirit of 
God upon them," were so different from what they anticipated, — 
they were so much more energetic than they calculated upon, — they 
were carried on, in movements, and by means, and with appear- 
ances, and evolving exercises, and excitement, — so entirely con- 
trary to their pre-conceived notions ; — that these inexperienced 
souls, who were yet only in their novitiate in the school of Christ, 
were pressed quite into a quandary. Their thoughts were put 
completely on the rack, and could hardly settle upon any solution, 
that w T ould satisfy themselves, respecting the strange things they 
now heard and saw. Fluctuating in their minds between confi- 
dence and hesitancy, — half-believing, half-distrusting the divine 
agency of the work, — now satisfied, and then discontented with 
the exercises, — awhile settled, but soon again agitated in their 
thoughts ; — they were held wavering and vascillating, unable to 



200 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

come to a definite opinion, or to fix upon a final decision. En- 
tangled in the maze of their bewildering thoughts, — " They were 
all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, w T hat mean- 
eth this?" 

To one conversant with extensive and powerful revivals of reli- 
gion, it is needless to suggest, — that in all this perplexity of thought 
exhibited by the infant church at Jerusalem, there is a complete 
correspondence with what is witnessed in modern times, in the pro- 
fessed followers of Christ, whenever a real religious revival begins 
to display its characteristic phenomena. In general, the member- 
ship of the church are, at first, quite in suspense, — hoping for the 
best, but hardly knowing what to think. "Such excitement — such 
wildness! — such seeming confusion! — These interruptions! this 
noise! these bodily exercises! these glory- shout s ! — ah! they are 
at a loss how to think! — "Can all this be genuine? — Is it anymore 
than a delusion? — Is not much of this put on ? Are those profes- 
sing to be so happy, really sincere? Will they hold out to the end?' 
Will their happiness last?" Thus modern christians, — "all in 
doubt," — ask themselves ; and so, like the first wavering Chris- 
tians, in the first wonderful revival of religion, — "they are all ama- 
zed and marvel," amid the mighty movings of a modern revival. 
Without formally drawing a parallel between the points of resem- 
blance produced upon the recognized members of the church, by 
the Pentecostal revival, and the revivals of the present day ; — the 
coincidence is sufficiently plain to demonstrate that the operations 
are identically the same in kind. 

This correspondence may be further traced in the impressions 
produced by a revival work upon, 

2. Avowed gainsayers. 

Desirous to justify themselves for their w T ilful rejection of the 
Truth, and at the same time, aiming to render odious a Work of 
God too notorious to be denied, — the worldly and the wicked, who 
were present at this astonishing scene, "mocking, said, these men 
are full of new wine." This ridiculous insinuation, — that is so 
poor, paltry and flimsy a pretence for a slander, as to make one 
imagine, the Father of lies had for once run out of inventions, with 
which to furnish the venders of his fabrications, — hardly deserves 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 201 

the flat denial, the Apostle was at the trouble to give in rejoinder; 
but what suggested to the malicious thoughts of these Maligners 
of Gods' work, the notion of intoxication ? How came they, at 
such a time to think of drunkenness? there is a disclosure, invol- 
ved in the reply, that is strikingly to our purpose ? It is easy to 
account for this slanderous invention, and equally easy to point out 
how the false idea should have been presented to their perverse 
minds on this occasion ! A wilful and most wicked misconstruc- 
tion, put upon the movements of the new Converts, — a malicious 
misrepresentation of their exercises, — will readily explain the 
inductive, as well the premises, of this false accusation. A great 
revival of religion is only another name for a great excitement of 
feeling ; and when feeling is greatly excited, it breaks out, natu- 
rally and unavoidably, in loud and vehement exertions of the voice, 
and in various, violent motions of the body. The presumption 
therefore is, that the great excitement of feeling in the new Con- 
verts, on the day of Pentecost, expressed itself in this manner, and 
that these new-born children of God displayed the fulness of their 
souls' delight, by shouting, — singing, — staggering, — leaping, — 
rushing, — reeling, — clapping their hands, — and moving hither and 
thither, to and fro, — as the happyfied souls always do in a power- 
ful revival. These gainsaying spectators, seeing, or thinking they 
saw, something like a resemblance between the movements of the 
first Converts, and the irregular and turbulent motions of an ine- 
briate ; — their malice quickly caught at the hint, and seizing with 
avidity the gross illusion, spitefully charged it upon the new Con- 
verts, that they exercised themselves in that manner, because 
" they were drunken with new wine !" This delineation will at 
once account for this strange statement of the intoxication of the 
converted persons ; nor can we, in any other way, surmize, how a 
notion so foreign to the occasion, should have been suggested to 
their imaginations : — and if so, — if the movements described were 
exhibited, and so became the occasion of this gross slander ; then 
not only does the slander itself furnish another proof of identity, or 
the sameness of the impressions, made by this revival work and 
the work of revivals in the present day: but the very movements of 
the Converts themselves, which gave occasion to the slander, are 
26 



202 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

triumphant evidences, that the revivals of our day are identically 
the same as that first revival, in which these were convicted and 
converted ; because the exercises of the new converts now, are 
exactly similar to the exercises of the new converts then, on that 
first, great occasion ! Fastidious Formality, and religious Prudery 
have ever taken exceptions to these outward manifestations of an 
inward gladness, not to be confined within the secret, silent reces- 
ses of the bosom, nor even to be expressed by the mere articula- 
tions of the voice : but if the Pentecost Converts manifested " the 
joys of their salvation" by these external activities, as undoubtedly 
they did, and must have done ; — who then can doubt, that these 
outward exhibitions of their joy w T ere of God ? — and who can deny, 
that similar exercises, in the present day, are equally the opera- 
tions of the Spirit ? As to the slander itself, — it has its counter- 
parts in the sarcasms and jests of the Wicked and the Wordly in 
this our day. Who is a stranger to the taunts and vile inuendoes, 
with which the ungodly of our times have assailed the w T ork of 
revivals among us ? Who, on retiring from the exciting scene, 
which has been the birth-place of many sin-forgiven souls, has not 
overheard the mockery, with which the Wicked have endeavored to 
vilify the sacred services and pious exercises? — Wlien, on no color 
or pretence whatever, a charge of intoxication, or of some vice as 
bad, could be brought against the persons participating in the 
revival movement ; — its place has been supplied with insinuations 
of mental weakness, — of hypocrisy, — of hypochondriaism, — of 
Pharisaism, — of ostentatious vanity, — and a number of other crim- 
inations, all calculated and intended to invalidate the genuineness 
and excellency of the work of God. Now as wicked and worldly 
men w T ere as much disposed to mock, and to speak slightly of the 
undoubted work of God, of the day of Pentecost, as men of these 
same characters, in the present day, are disposed to treat, in the 
same manner, a work of revival; — we may be sure, that both these 
works are the same in kind, and therefore equally Divine : — be- 
cause, though times change, and in some respects, men change 
with the times, — yet moral character is always, in all ages, uniform, 
and the likes and dislikes of Wickedness and Worlriliness are just 
now what they were eighteen centuries ago ; and consequently if 



THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 203 

these respective characters disliked, so as to revile, a work of God 
at the commencement of the Christian era, — the work of a revival, 
which equally provokes their antipathies and reproaches, in the 
present age, must be also a work of God. 

This deduction receives a final confirmation from the impression 
produced upon 

3. The community at large. 

When Ptiimor, with her thousand tongues, had spread the intel- 
ligence of this extraordinary work, in which about three thousand 
souls had been born of God, — throughout the crowded populace 
of Jerusalem, a deeply solemn impression was made upon the 
whole community. " When this was noised abroad" through the 
City; — we are told, — "fear came upon every soul." This as- 
tounding display of the saving power of God, not only affected 
greatly the actual spectators, who were present in the crowd ; but 
as soon as it became generally known, the inhabitants of the whole 
city, in everyplace, were awed into unwonted seriousness. Num- 
bers of persons, who never ventured to the place of preaching, and 
who remained far beyond the reach of the preachers' voice, — acted 
upon by the mere report of the wonderous work, — had " great 
thoughts of heart." The artificer in his shop ; the wife, and the 
daughter, in their chambers and amid their domestic employ- 
ments; — the Merchant in his store-house, and while busy with his 
merchandise ; — the Scribe or Notary in his office, and when em- 
ployed with his pen; — the bond-man and bond-woman in their 
retired places of toil, and while following their menial occupations; 
the weary Water-bearer, and the toil-worn Camel-driver, while 
pursuing their vagrant callings ; — the learned Rabbi, in the pri- 
vacy of his oratory ; and even the secluded priest, shut up in the 
sequestered chamber of the Temple ; — these all, and others, other- 
wise circumstanced, — who had been prevented, or else wilfully 
kept aloof, from attending upon the Christian speakers, — received, 
in the news of this mighty movement, a solemnizing impulse tend- 
ing to alarm them. The impressive influence of the great revival 
thus extended to every part, and to every person of the great Me- 
tropolis, — wherever, and to whomsoever, the intelligence of its 
astonishing operations made its way. It is so now. The entire" 



204 THE MODEL FOR RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 

town or village, or if in the country, the whole of the neighborhood, 
become impressed with serious thoughts and solemn feelings, — 
less or more according to the energy of the movement, — wherever 
a real revival of religion occurs. An influence is generated by the 
exercises, which goes far beyond the walls of the Church ; reach- 
ing to the Mechanic at his bench, — the Mother at her fire-side, — 
the Husbandman at his plough, — the Youth in the shop, or in the 
field, — the Female in the retirement of her room, — the Aged, de- 
tained by decrepitude, in their distant home: until one, and 
another, and another, — restless and uneasy, — are drawn to the place 
of prayer, and anon, being converted,— swell the triumphs of reli- 
gion, and add to the growing aggregate of the Church. Surely no 
one can reflect upon these striking coincidences, in the like im- 
pressions produced upon various characters by the pentecostal work 
of revival and the modern work of revival, — without being convin- 
ced, that these two works are essentially similar, — or identical in 
their divine origination, and in their moral characteristics. 



SERMON VII 



THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELISTS THE PATTERNS OF ALL SUCCEEDING 
PREACHERS 

" Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men — 2 Corinthi- 
ans, 5 Chap. 11 Verse. 

The chief instrumentality, which Divine Goodness has chosen 
'to employ for the conversion of the world is the Ministry of the 
Gospel. " For it hath pleased God by the foolishness of preach- 
ing to save them that believe." — This was the principal, if not the 
only instrumentality by which the first great triumphs of the Cross 
were achieved ; and this same instrument will continue to have the 
pre-eminence over all other religious means, until the munificient 
schemes of Infinite Benevolence are finally and fully consummated 
in the general salvation of every division and of every generation 
of our fallen race. — It is true, the Christian dispensation was ush- 
ered in among men by a splendid series of signs and wonders, — 
attended by a long and bright array of undoubted and most aston- 
ishing miracles : yet neither were the first, nor were the following 
achievements of the religion of Jesus at all obtained by means of 
these miraculous operations. What saving effect upon the won- 
der-struck spectators did these exhibitions of supernal power ever 
secure ? — When Christianity, in the person of its Divine Author, 
first went forth into the world ; — treading down with his feet into 
placid smoothness the tossing waves of the sea ; — holding the bois- 
terous winds in his grasp; — hurling forth demons with his frown; 
healing the sick with his touch ; — and with a word setting at lib- 
erty the despoiled captives of death and the grave: — what was the 
actual effect of these miracles? Did these matchless displays of 
Omnipotence secure for Christianity many and mighty conquests 
among men? — Did these miraculous interpositions of supernatural 



206 THE PRIMITIVE EVVNGELIST. 

agency so effect, as to convert sinners ? — No! no! — These great 
wonders and signs did little more than excite the idle gaze of men; 
and, at most, they only produced a momentary impression upon the 
imagination, without affecting the disposition of the carnal heart. 
Not a single instance is on record of one single individual, that was 
truly converted, by the experience of a spiritual regeneration of his 
moral nature, through the mere influence of these astounding mir- 
acles. 0, no! — it was only when Christianity lifted up her "still 
small voice," by preaching her "good tidings of great joy," that 
her train of followers began to swell and to extend with true and 
numerous converts! — 

The servants were as their Lord. When the first champions of 
Christianity, — that illustrious band of holy men of God, — the 
great Apostles, went abroad among the nations of the earth, inves- 
ted with a supernatural control over disease, death and hell, — 
how was their success? — Did these apostles subdue the enemies 
of the Cross by their wonder-working powers ? — Did they ever 
cause Christianity to triumph in all places, through their su- 
pernatural gifts? — Were the souls of men born again by means 
of their miraculous performances ? — No such thing ! The very 
reverse of all this, resulted from their working miracles at least in 
one plainly recorded example. It is notorious, that the display of 
their superhuman powers, in the sudden cure of the cripple of 
Lystra, gave rise to an attempt at downright idolatry, by exciting 
the paganized people to pay divine honors to the Apostles, as the 
personifications of their Deities. No, — it was only when these 
Ministers of the Cross "preached Christ and him crucified," that 
he was " believed on in the world." 

In the present day, the same instrumentality holds the chief 
place among the means, which God employs for the conversion 
of the souls of mankind. As in the beginning, so at present, "the 
preaching of the Gospel is" pre-eminently and principally "the 
power of God unto salvation to all who believe." True, there are 
in operation now, and there have been in use from the beginning, 
other means and instrumentalities, which have been, and may 
still be, occasionally and perhaps, in some instances, extensively 
blessed for the conversion of sinners : but yet, after all as a gen- 



THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST 207 

eral rule, without the preaching of the Gospel, the process of 
saving souls cannot be carried on with success. Preaching is still 
the principal instrument, by which the God of love does and will 
gather into one, a people for himself, from the four winds of heav- 
en. The spiritual temple, which Christianity designs to erect, 
formed of " living stones," "built up a spiritual house" with sa- 
ved souls, and constructed, by its capacious area, to cover the face 
of the earth,— had its first foundation laid by the preaching of 
"the twelve Apostles of the Lamb ;" and by the same means, in 
general, will be reared its glorious, wide-spead superstructure, 
one compartment being added to the others, and one " lively 
stone" after another being brought on and fitted in, as the publi- 
cation of the Gospel successively takes effect, until the top-stone 
be raised, amid the shoutings of a ransomed universe, " crying- 
grace, grace unto it." The world of mankind is to be saved 
through preaching ! 

If then the preaching of the Gospel be so important a means 
of grace ; if preaching be the instrumentality, which God or- 
dinarily, and by way of preference, uses for the conversion and 
salvation of our lost race ; — how distinguished a position, among 
the different departments of the moral world, is occupied by the 
Christian Ministry, to whom is committed a dispensation to 
preach the unsearchable riches of Christ! As the viceagents of 
"the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, 
"fulfilling the ministration of the Gospel," which he commenced; 
as the proxies of Christ, pleading with mankind, "in his name" 
and " in his stead ;" as " ambassadors for God our savior," com- 
missioned to carry on "the ministry of reconciliation;"— the of- 
fice of the preachers, of the Gospel cannot well be magnified too 
much, either in its importance or in its moral dignity. — On what 
topic then can we fix our attention, that ought to secure more of 
our regard, or to afford a more interesting theme of meditation! — 
Surely we cannot be more properly or more profitably employed, 
than in the contemplation of these holy, honored men, who first 
composed and carried on the Ministry of the Gospel, and who 
were intended to be patterns, or examples of all succeeding 
preachers, in all generations, both in their spirit and their practi- 



208 THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 

ces. For this purpose the Text presents to us suitable matter. The 
words of the text are the words of one of the first preachers of 
the Gospel, — a preacher, of high renown, of great powers, of 
most philanthropic spirit, and one who has never been surpassed, 
if at all equalled, in the success of his ministry. His languare 
contained in the text, furnishes us with a beautiful and instructive 
sketch of the practice and the motives of the Primitive Evangel- 
ists. 

I. The practice of the Primitive Evangelists-. 

" We persuade men." 

When the Blessed Redeemer had finished his great work of 
atonement, — in the world that he loved unto death, he still lingered 
to perform another and necessary work of mercy. No arrange- 
ment had yet been made for the universal promulgation of that 
salvation he had purchased for the w T orld. Ere therefore he as- 
cended up in his triumphant Chariot to the highest heaven, the 
Savior held a conference with his disciples, and commissioned the 
Apostles to go out into all the world, — publishing the Gospel of 
reconciliation to every creature, — calling upon all men, every 
where, "to be reconciled to God." This commission the Apos- 
tles faithfully fulfilled. The text exhibits to us the practice they 
pursued in the discharge of their high trust : — " they persuaded 
men." This was the practice of all the first Preachers of the 
Gospel, — their constant, their uniform, their universal practice : — 
"they persuaded men." In the name of the whole College of the 
Apostles, including himself, the veteran Evangelist Paul, with the 
express intention of defining their common method of preaching, 
here declares, — "We persuade men." — Perusing the narrative of 
the labors and of the successes of the Primitive Evangelists, as they 
are detailed to us in "the Acts of the Apostles," we are compelled 
to pause, ever and anon, for the purpose of dwelling in our delight 
upon the successive statements of successful effort, in spreading 
far, and wide, and fast, the triumphs of Christianity ; — here the 
Jews believe,— there the Gentiles receive with gladness the word ; 
now a whole city is stirred up ; — then all the regions round about 
turn from their dumb idols to serve the true and living God ;— 
Jewry abounds with the disciples of Jesus,— Asia is soon studded 



THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 209 

over with large and flourishing* communities of Christians, — 
"Achaia ere long sends out greetings" from her numerous and 
well-established Churches : — and if, amid these delightful contem- 
plations of the rapid diffusion of the light and influence of the Gos- 
pel, — the inquiry should arise, — how is this done ? — what gives 
such certain and rapid success to the efforts of the primitive Evan- 
gelists? — by what method do they so soon and so triumphantly 
evangelize so many cities and countries, and collect and establish 
such a multitude of different and distant Churches? — a toil-worn, 
hoary-headed Preacher, "in labors more abundant than they all," 
stands before you to explain, and answers, — " We persuade men." 
This fact, here asserted by the Apostle Paul, — that the first 
preachers of the Gospel always pursued the practice of persuading 
men,— suggests to us several important considerations, which are 
entitled to our serious attention. If the primitive Evangelists uni- 
formly "persuaded men;" then w T e may certainly infer that the 
Gospel, which they preached, must have been, — in its nature 
suasive,— in its claims reasonable, — and in its inducement super- 
lative. 

If all the first preachers always "persuaded men," then we may 
be sure, that the Gospel, they preached, was 
1. In its nature suasive. 

In the great enterprise of evangelizing the world, for which they 
were divinely commissioned, the first Preachers of the Gospel con- 
fined themselves to moral suasion. This was their practice ;" — in 
this manner they fulfilled their great commission ; — by this method 
they accomplished "the w T ork of an Evangelist." They sought 
and secured the ends of their ministry, — not by force, but by en- 
treaty ; — not by intimidation, but by expostulation ; — not by com- 
pulsion, but by conciliation ; — not by coercion, but by persuasion: 
"they persuaded men." They did not try to compel men to obey 
the Gospel by violence, and from mere necessity; but they endeav- 
ored to induce them to yield their obedience from conviction and 
by choice : — " they persuaded men." — Nor can the Gospel be 
propagated in any other way. Such persons as would help for- 
ward the Gospel, in its progress among men, by forcible means, or 
appliances in any way, and in any degree, coercive, have entirely 
27 



210 THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 

mistaken the genius of the Evangelical system. Never was there 
a greater misapprehension than to suppose, that the Religion of the 
New .Testament needs, or can receive aid from the interference of 
civil authority,— by the employment of physical force, — or through 
the interposition of secular power. Nor is the mistake much less 
gross, that prompts those that put forth on its behalf, the austerities 
of priestly domination,— the influence of official superiority,— the 
exactions and the intimidations of arbitrary authority, — or the op- 
pressive impositions of a spiritual tyranny, that would lord over the 
conscience and the judgment of mankind. The Gospel can never 
be helped in this way, but is rather hindred. We do not rightly 
comprehend its true character, if we do not know, that the Gospel 
addresses man asjfree to receive, or to reject its proposals; and 
therefore professes to allure, rather than to coerce, men into obedi- 
ence ;— to draw rather than to drive ; — to induce them by motives 
of kindliness, rather than to compel them by measures of rigor and 
violence. The characteristic elements of the Gospel will alone 
accord with that persuasion, which combines sound reasoning, 
tender expostulations, earnest entreaty, strong incitements, affec- 
tionate importunity, and kind solicitations: and whenever, and 
wherever its Ministry has resorted to means or measures of a con- 
trary character, it has, — it ever will, become invariably unfruitful, 
and, in the end, despicable in the extreme. The man, who lifts 
his sword to sustain Christianity, wounds her, as with a back-blow, 
by every stroke he aims for her support. He defeats his own pur- 
pose, in the very attempt, and by the very means, he seeks to 
effect its accomplishment. For the human mind naturally revolts 
and recoils against every attempt to force or to fetter its judgment. 
It is inalienably free ;— it feels itself to be uncontrolably free ;— 
and hence its opposition, and its indignation too, are ever stirred 
up, by the useless effort to wrest from it its native freedom. It is 
true, that by intimidation,— by tortures or by threats,— the mind 
of man, by reason of its sympathy with the shrinking body, may 
in some instances, have seemed to yield up its inborn liberty to 
the dictum of its oppressor : but, as sure as there is a soul in 
man, it was no more than a semblance of submission. In reality, 
the apparently succumbing mind, in these instances, did, most 



THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST 211 

assuredly, remain as firmly fixed as ever in its original convic- 
tions, and preconceived sentiments: — and not only so, — but 
besides being unchanged and unchangeable in its apprehensions 
and views, must also necessarily cherish, ever afterwards, a more 
bitter and implacable resentment to the system, which either re- 
quired, or allowed, its supporters to try the tyranny of force upon 
a nature essentially free. Man is, by every token, — by all show- 
ing, a voluntary being, possessing absolutely the prerogative to 
think and to act for himself; and therefore he can be reconciled 
only to such a religious system as addresses him in the character, 
he undoubtedly sustains, of a moral agent, who, by constitution 
of nature, is at perfect liberty to refuse, or accept what is offered 
to him. 

Such a system of religion,— precisely such, is the Gospel. It 
offers its blessings to the acceptance of sinners, without using any 
constraint whatever to secure their reception. It leaves the mind 
completely free to improve, or to renounce, its overtures. It, in 
no way, and by no means, seeks to force its benefits upon man. 
It concedes to man the freedom of choice, which he undoubtedly 
possesses ; and address him as at liberty to take, or to put from him, 
any thing or all that is presented to him, as he feels conscious he 
has the ability to do. It is, in fine, a voluntary system suited to 
the free agency of mankind. 

Nor is it at all inconsistent with this absence of all coercion, but 
rather in perfect keeping, that the Gospel appeals to mankind, by 
persuasion. Destitute of this appliance, the Evangelic system 
would have been defective, and inadequate to its design. With- 
out persuasion, (speaking after the manner of men) the tenets of 
the New Testament would have had no chance of reaching the 
minds of men. To gain admission into the human mind, it was 
not sufficient barely to propose something to its acceptance. Such 
is its listlessness and indifferency, and so pre-occupied are its 
thoughts with objects and pursuit to which its attachment has long 
and strongly been wedded, that, to obtain an access to the mind, 
something further was necessary than the mere presentation of a 
proposition. What was proposed for its reception, must be press- 
ed upon its regard by all that is prevalent in persuasion. Its 



212 THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 

attention must be bespoken, — its desires must be stirred up by 
the exciting influence, offered in the many and the weighty consid- 
erations, with which persuasion pleads. Truth in all her naked 
amiableness not only must be openly exhibited; but lest her lovely 
lineaments and fine proportions should be disregarded, or despised, 
they must be distinctly pointed out, and be presented in the most 
advantageous light, so as to fix the regard and captivate the heart 
of those she would woo and win to herself. Hence when that 
beauteous embodiment of Divine Truth, contained in the doctrines 
of the Gospel, was brought out before men, it was necessary, that 
they should be persuaded to regard, and to embrace the truth, by 
expatiating upon its excellences, its importance, and its advan- 
tages. Thus, while the rejection, or the reception of the saving 
truths of the Gospel, was left quite optional with mankind, as their 
moral natures required; at the same time, it was indispensable, 
that these truths should be urged upon them, by all that is influen- 
tial in moral suasion. 

This was the practice of the Primitive Evangelists. Thus they 
" persuaded men." This was all they did to diffuse the light and 
influence of Christianity through so many lands. They needed 
nothing more. They sought no other agency. They employed 
no other means. They could succeed in no other w T ay. Ah, no ! 
The primitive Evangelist derived none of his influence from secu- 
lar power! He owed none of his success to compulsory means, or 
measures ! His hand brandished no sword, nor shook the oppres- 
sors' clanking chain ! No sullen scowl of priestly tyranny sat on 
his brow ! No haughty vengeance flashed from his eye ! No 
pompous vanity inflated his looks ! His lips gave utterance to no 
angry threats ! His presence spread around him none of the diffi- 
dence of distrust, — nothing like the dismay of dreaded, despotic 
power! — no! no! no! He rose up before the people, meek 
and mild, like a kind angel of Mercy. " When the ear heard 
him, then it blessed him!" Compassion itself seemed to speak, in 
all its tender tones, and softening sympathies, when he lifted up 
his voice to address the eager multitude ! With one hand he held 
out the blessed volume of Gods' truth, while the other was stretched 
forth in the attitude of friendly entreaty. A beseeching tenderness, 



THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 213 

beamed in his eye, which was dimmed, now and then, with the 
gushings of a gentle tear. His countenance was animated with 
the expression of a generous kindness, save when the miseries of 
man touched his heart too keenly, and then it was overcast by a 
moving melancholy. His words breathed with love and pity to 
the lost of men ; — invincible persuasion dropped from his lips ! 
His was the triumph of principle ! His was the conquest of kind- 
ness ! His was the trophy of truth ! 'He subdued by the simple 
statement of simple truth; and while he conquered, he captivated! 
He charmed with the tenderness of his sympathy, the souls that he 
convinced by the irresistible appeals of his persuasions! 

This is the way in which the Gospel now prevails. " With the 
law of kindness on our lips," "we thus persuade men!" We 
desire no instruments of force ; we employ only the suasory seduce- 
ments of Christian charity. We would not compel the belief of 
our fellow men ; we only court their credence by the conciliatory 
considerations of Gospel truth. W T e would win over our hearers to 
Christ, with the importunities of our friendly entreaty ; we, by no 
means, would coerce them by methods of violence. God forbid ! 
that we should seize the sword, or ask the strong arm of civil 
power to enable us "to establish our goings :" or that we should 
ever sigh for a domination, to lord it over the enslaved understand- 
ings of mankind! Far, far be all these "things from us!! — Our 
weapons of warfare are not thus carnal.; they are spiritual. Our 
forte is elsewhere. W"e would repeat the tale of redemption ; we 
would talk of Calvary ; we would depict dark Gethsamene ; we 
would set forth the wonders of the Cross ; we would rehearse the 
song of Bethlehem ; we would re-echo the voice of the excellent 
Glory ; we would recall the dying wail of the sufferer, who was 
wounded for our trangressions; we would encore the triumph-shout 
of the Crucified One, as he bowed his head and gave up the Ghost ; 
and from the scene of his death, we would look back through the 
incidents of his wonderous life, and recount the truths he taught, 
the promises he gave, the revelations he imparted, the hopes he 
presented, the blessings he insured: — these are, — these shall' be 
our themes of discourse ; — from these we fetch our strong reasons 
to persuade you ; — from these we draw the soul-thrilling energies 



214 THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 

to move you ;— these, these furnish our prevailing appeals, to win 
you to duty, to interest, to God, and to salvation ! 

If all the first preachers always " persuaded men," then it is 
evident the Gospel they preached, must be, 

2. In its claims reasonable. 

Persuasion is never resorted to for the purpose of leading us on, 
in these courses, and after those objects, w 7 hich are manifestly un- 
reasonable. In such cases w T e may be tempted, — seduced, — delu- 
ded, — infatuated, — provoked, — deceived; but never are persuaded. 
Indeed, of that which is palpably unreasonable we cannot be per- 
suaded ; because to be persuaded of a thing is tantamount to, or 
the same as, to be convinced of its reasonableness. This accounts 
for the fact, that false religions have never been attempted to be est- 
tablished, or propagated, simply and only, by means of persuasion. 
Systems not founded in reason, have gained ground among men, 
and have stood for ages, in opposition to all rational principles ; — 
but how? — by what means? — Not by persuasion! — No! no! — 
but by means directly the reverse of persuasion ! These irrational 
systems owe their first establishment, and subsequent continuance, 
to measures, or methods, that are opposite in nature to the moral 
influences of rational suasion : As, for example, that of Mahomet, 
by the force of arms ; — those which obtain in pagan countries, by 
the superstitions of gross ignorance, and especially by their plenary 
license to sinful indulgence ; — that of the Papal Church, by secular 
power, and by the collusion and intrigues of priestcraft and politi- 
cal chicanery ; — those of the Imposters, that have appeared in this 
and other Christian nations, by the wild dreams of fanaticism, and 
by the w T ildering mysteries of forged revelations. These, and such 
as these, were the only means, by which these preposterous systems 
of religion could make their way in the world ; and systems so 
obviously absurd, contradicting, as they do all reason, could never 
have arisen, or remained, if persuasion only had been employed on 
their behalf. Any religious system therefore that proposes to 
secure its reception among men, altogether and only by mere per- 
suasion, must evidently be of a character the exact reverse of these 
irrational schemes ; and, as such, must be founded in reason. If 
to be persuaded, is one and the same, as being brought to realize 



THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 215 

what is reasonable; how certain is it, that a system of religion, 
which persuades itself into the confidence and the affections of its 
recipients, must unquestionably be truly reasonable. 

Such then is the Gospel. In the claims, which it prefers upon 
men by its ministry, it is, in every way, and in the highest degree, 
reasonable. Whatever sacrifices the Gospel demands, — whatever 
duties it requires, — whatever services it imposes, — are rendered 
most reasonable from the consideration, that more than an equiv- 
alent is given in return for all it exacts from us ! It does not ask 
us to give up one thing, without promising us something better in 
its stead. Had it been otherwise ; — were the Gospel to call upon 
us to resign our pleasures, and to relinquish our pursuits, without 
any pledge, or promise of other and superior enjoyments and ben- 
efits, its requirements would then be plainly unreasonable. To 
insist upon us so doing, without hope of any recompense, or reward, 
w T ould be as arbitrary an imposition, as to compel to the unreason- 
able exchange of something for naught, or as to necessitate us to 
take up with a nonentity in the place of a real possession. Very 
different is the Gospel ! Of all reasonable things, its claims are 
the most reasonable! A full compensation is given by the Gos- 
for all and every sacrifice of interest, or of enjoyment, which its 
demands upon us require at our hands. No carnal pleasure is forsa- 
ken, — no earthly good is resigned, — no sinful persuit is renoun- 
ced, — no worldly connection is abandoned, — no sacrifice of per- 
sonal feeling, or property is made, — in obedience to the high 
behests of the religion of Jesus, — no, not one! — but what has for 
its promised, though gratuitous recompense, blessings of infinite- 
ly higher enjoyment, and of immensely richer worth. It not only 
gives us in land, for what we surrender at its command;— -as 
pleasure for pleasure, — friendship for friendship, — honor for honor, 
possession for possession ; but what it gives in return for the sur- 
renders required, are immeasurably higher, better, and more bles-- 
sed; — as solid enjoyment, in lieu of empty amusements, — fellow- 
ship with Deity and all holy intelligencies, instead of these " evil 
communications' ' with the wicked and worldly, "which corrupt 
good manners, — "an enduring substance in heaven," in exchange 
for "the beggarly elements of this world," — "joy unspeakable," 



216 THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 

"fulness of joy and pleasure forevermore," in barter for the poor 
pleasures of sin that are but for a season !"" — Take a cursory 
glance, at the claims of the Gospel, along with their corresponding 
rewards; and you cannot fail to observe in these claims all that 
is most reasonable. For instance, — does the Gospel ask us to 
give up the pleasures of sense ? It gives in return the bliss of the 
soul. Does it require us to renounce the pleasure of the world? 
It secures to us the friendship of God ! Are we to part w T ith sin ? 
We thereby obtain salvation ! Does the Gospel bid us resign our 
interest in the things of time ? It promises us the blessings of 
eternity ! Have we to leave all, that we once thought great, and 
good, and fair, on earth ? We are assured of all that is grand and 
good and blessed in heaven! Have we to humble ourselves ? The 
promise is, w r e shall be exalted! Does the Gospel call for the sor- 
rows of repentence? It gives the joy and peace of believing! — 
Have w r e to agonize that we may enter the strait gates ? It leads 
to life eternal at God's right hand! Must we live a life of prayer? 
It makes certain to us an eternity of joyful praise ! Have we to 
take up our cross? It pledges us w T e shall wear the crown! Have 
we to labor? It blesses us in our work, and conducts us to an ev- 
erlasting rest! Must we expose ourselves to the sneers, the hostil- 
ities, the persecutions of the men of the world ? It assures of the 
favor, approbation, and fruition of Deity! Do we deny ourselves 
the honors that come from man? We have the honor that cometh 
from God! Are we to give ourselves away to God? God in re- 
turn, giveth himself to us, for the present and an eternal portion of 
our souls! Do our suffering abound? Our consolations much 
more abounds! Have we numerous and powerful enemies? He, 
that is for us, is more and greater than all who are against, us! 
Does the Gospel urge us, "to war the good warfare," against the 
world, the flesh, and the Devil? It pledges final victory and im- 
mortal honors ! Does it seperate us from the world? It unites us 
with Christ! Have we to "bear the reproach of Christ?" It is 
certain, "if w r e suffer with him, we shall also reign with him!" — 
Are we to be "strangers and pilgrims on the earth?" We thus 
make sure of a home in heaven, "a building of God, not made with 
hands , eternal in the heavens !" Have we to "pass through much 



THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST 217 

tribulation? 5 ' It will work out for us a far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory hereafter! Must death come? "Death is 
swallowed up in victory!" Shall " every one of us give an account 
of himself to God ?" " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of 
Gods' elect?" It is God that justifieth ! Does an unending exist- 
ence await us ? " So then we shall be ever with the Lord !" — 
What more needs be said ? Is it not plain, past all controversy, 
that the claims of the Gospel are most reasonable ? Why, ye Dis^ 
pisers, O why, unhappy sinners, do ye turn from us, in cold con- 
tempt, or with indignant wrath, when we beseech you to yield to 
the claims of the Gospel ? Could you so mistake us as to suppose, 
that we only invite you to downright loss ? — or wished you to part 
with what is dear and valuable in your esteem, without offering 
aught by way of compensation ? No, — our Gospel is not so un- 
reasonable ! " In keeping its commandments," be assured, " there 
is a great reward." In this, or the future world, — here, or hereafter, 
every surrender, and sacrifice, and service which the Gospel re^ 
quires, will have a sure and an abundant recompense. 

As the first preachers all constantly "persuaded men," we may 
certainly infer, that the gospel they preached, was, 

3. In its inducements superlative. 

Preponderating inducements were indispensable to the success 
of that practice, which, the Evangelists of primitive times pursu- 
ed in " persuading men." Fettered with opposing predilictions, 
as all mankind are naturally, — without something more than a 
mere compensation of the. service it demands, the Gospel would 
never have persuaded men to concede to its proposals. To se- 
cure their consent to its claims, there was a necessity, not only 
that a fair and equal consideration should be offered: but also, 
that something additional should be presented, — something over 
and above a bare equivalent, for the purpose of countervailing the 
habits, prejudices and propensities, common to man in his apos- 
tate condition. Mankind, before they are renewed by the regen- 
erating influences of religion, are all found to have, — habits, 
which they have a stubborn dislike to change, — prejudices, which, 
with the greatest reluctance, they give up, — propensities, from 
which they feel much difficulty to break off! These natural hab* 



218 THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 

its, prejudices, and propensities, of mankind, time has so strength- 
ened in them, — while example has so countenanced and confirmed 
them, that even the most plain and positive demonstration of their 
folly, or their fatality, is not sufficient to induce men to renounce 
and relinquish them. That men maybe prevailed upon to adopt 
a course of conduct, and a class of sentiments, contrary to, and 
clashing with, their long established and fondly cherished habits, 
predictions, and practices, — some additioual considerations are 
requisite by way of inducements. — Now this is the precise pro- 
cess by which the Gospel prevails in persuading men. Were the 
advantages proposed, no more than just commensurate with the 
services required, the Gospel would have used its persuasions in 
vain. The influence of the natural habits, dispositions, and sen- 
timents, common to all the human race, would, in that case, have 
outweighed the consideration of the mere equivalent advantages 
offered. Mankind would not have altered their views, nor would 
they have changed their lives, unless they could make a very 
considerable gain by the change. — Anticipating this exigency in 
the case of degenerate men, arising out of his notorious disaffec- 
tion and disinclination to all moral good, the Gospel is provided 
with a number of supplementary incentives to obedience. To 
counterbalance the opposing influences, presented in the natural 
views and propensities of the carnal man, the Gospel, to its just 
and equal claims, superadds inducements surperlative in their 
w T eight and worth. It offers, in consideration of the service to be 
rendered, a recompense full and adequate ; and then presents ad- 
vantages of untold worth and of unending durability, as a bonus! 
It proposes to give a compensation, right and reasonable; and 
then throws into the bargain, in the way of a premium, infinite and 
eternal considerations ! It pleads for an engagement, which is, in 
every respect, equitable, and then, in return for the surrenders 
and sacrifices, which are required by the engagement, it gives an 
immensity of benefits to boot!— Let us now explain by two or 
three familiar examples. 

The Gospel, — for instance, — proposes to secure the highest wel- 
fare of the immortal soul, in preference to the paltry pleasures of 
the poor, perishing body!— And is not this a powerful inducement 



THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 219 

to comply with its demand ? — Ah ! what a disparity between soul 
and body! — the soul so glorious and god-like !— the body no bet- 
ter than animated earth ! Who can fully calculate the difference 
in their worth, or measure the vast distance between them in dig- 
nity, capacity, or destination ? The meaner portion of the man- 
hood of human beings, of inferior excellency and of a perishable 
nature, — the body without a rational soul, would only rank 
along with animals, and these of the weaker sort, and not of the 
highest order. The soul is the glory of humanity, the image of 
Deity, a rational intelligence, an innate of immortality, capacitated 
for an eternity of joy and woe, and claiming, by a parity of in- 
tellectual powers, a kindred and companionship with Cherubim 
and Seraphim. — Now, surely, to secure, the supreme and ever- 
lasting well-being of a soul, so sublimely grand, and so inestima- 
bly important, at the paltry, price of the poor pleasures of this per- 
ishing body, — can be no mean proposal! An argument, which 
superadds this vast consideration, can have no small weight! The 
scheme, which offers this over and above a reasonable equivalent, 
cannot well be rejected ! — This powerful inducement then is 
held out by the Gospel, to those who yield to its requirements. It 
proposes to secure the good, the glory, the ever-increasing bles- 
sedness, of mans' immortal nature, — at the low cost, — at the tri- 
vial expense, of the puny pleasures of the frail and fading "flesh.' 
On the relinquishment of carnal gratifications, — the mere animal 
enjoyments of our inferior nature, which, at best, are low, gross, 
grovelling, and ignoble, and in the indulgence of which, man 
sinks himself to a level with the inferior creatures, — the Gospel 
promises and imparts the health, and wealth, and grace, and 
grandeur of mind, which are as superior to the relinquished grati- 
fications of flesh, as the bliss and being of an angel transcend 
those of the brute! How overwhelming the inducement to accept 
the overtures of the Gospel ! 

Again : — the Gospel offers, that which is invaluable, in ex- 
change for what is trivial,' — that which is immense, in barter for 
what is exceedingly limited, — that which is eternal, instead of 
what is only temporary. And is there not enough of strong in- 
ducement in such an offer ? All the present world can afford to 



220 THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 

its votaries,- — all that the ungodly do enjoy in this world,— is 
empty, little and evanescent. The whole of what constitutes the 
worldlings' good things, are not only, by comparison, worthless ; 
but, at best, they cannot satisfy, and, at longest, they continue but 
for a while. They are but vain inanities, while they continue ; 
and, as they " perish in the using," they are always passing away. 
Now in the place of these perishing sweets of earth, — these glitter- 
ing nothings of time, — these pleasing vanities of sense, — these 
brilliant, breath-blown bubbles of worldly enjoyments, — flimsy as 
the vapour and as flitting too, — the overture of the Gospel presents 
"grace and glory;" — a summary of privileges, of blessings, and 
bliss, which will fill up all time, and all eternity! — "grace and 
glory!" — terms, which express all the moral good we can possibly 
wish, and more than we can really comprehend ! — " grace and 
glory!" — bliss in blessings, and blessings in bliss, which were ap- 
praised and purchased at an infinite price, which will be carried 
out and perpetuated long as the reign of Deity, and which are vast 
and immeasurable as the capacious powers of the immortal mind! 
Think of the littleness and the emptiness of the things to be re- 
signed in contrast with the largeness, the value, the eternity of the 
benefits to be received ; and will you not instantly admit, that the 
inducement in this offer of the Gospel is indeed superlative ? 

Another example may suffice : — the Gospel offers a perfectly 
complete and absolutely satisfying good, in stead of what is, in its 
own nature, very imperfect, and entirely unsatisfying. Every 
thing, that pertains only to the present life, — we know T , from our 
own wretched consciousness in past experiences, is painfully defec- 
tive. Enjoyment is transient and unreal : honor is uncertain and 
vain : greatness is mortal and irksome : knowledge is burdensome 
and unsatisfying : possessions are fleeting and perplexing : w T ealth 
is worrying and cheerless : power is pernicious to its possessor. 
Such is the inventory of the things of this life, with their charac- 
teristic imperfections as ascertained by painful experience in the 
present, and in all past ages ! — What then has the religion of the 
New Testament to give ? In lieu of these, which are thus so 
wretchedly defective, — so miserably unsatisfying ! — Christianity 
dispenses gifts, supremely good and forever satisfying ! On this 



THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 221 

side of the grave, it bestows upon the soul, " a peace that passeth 
all understanding ;" imparts a hope, that triumphs in the prospect 
of eternal life ; inspires " a joy, that is unspeakable and full of 
glory:" — and beyond deaths' dark vale, — amid scenes, which 
have no clouds, know no sufferings, fear no foe, suffer no decay, 
and are overspread with grandeur, and outfilled with blessedness ; 
it promises, and finally puts us in possession of, thrones ! and 
crowns ! and kingdoms ! — thrones, crowns, kingdoms, — effulgent 
with immortal splendors ! — changeless as the Deity ! imperishable 
as the deathless soul ! beautiful as the brightness round the throne 
of God ! and blissful as the jubilee of Heaven ! 

This is the affluence of bounties, which the Gospel proffers to 
mankind, that they may be persuaded to yield to its claim ; — who 
can deny the superlativeness of its inducements ? It is indeed 
" worthy of all acceptation ! It deserves a more general, and a 
much more cordial reception, than it has ever yet received ! O, 
who can wonder, that a Gospel, with such inducements, achieves 
so many and so mighty triumphs among men ? — Nay ! — who does 
not wonder, that such a Gospel does not win and conquer more ? — 
Turn aside, thou Neglecter of salvation, and " see this great sight!" 
"It is no vain thing ; for it is your life ?" No " cunningly devi- 
sed fable" here invites your attention, or seeks to impose its falla- 
cious lures around your thoughts. Behold and see! — see, how 
suitable the Gospel in its mode of appeal to your moral nature ! 
see, how reasonable its demands ! — see, how surpassing the in- 
ducements it holds out to you to comply with its reasonable 
requirements! — see, and at once yield! Listen to its persuasions ; 
accept its offers, — and secure its unparalleled advantages for time 
and for eternity! 

Of what now has been said, this, in brief, is the sum : — the Prim- 
itive Evangelists, in fulfilling their Ministry, invariably and uni- 
formly adhered to the practice of persuading men ; thus teaching 
us, by a natural and obvious implication from their declared prac- 
tice, that the Gospel, committed to them, was, suasive in its char- 
acter, — reasonable in its requirements, and in its inducements 
overwhelming. The next topic, that calls for our attention, is the 



222 THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 

principle, which actuated them in pursuing the practice of persua- 
ding men. This we shall ascertain by examining, 

II. The motives of the Primitive Evangelists. 

"Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord." 

The first preachers of the Gospel were very extraordinory char- 
acters. In almost every aspect, they were perfectly unique. - 
Biography describes no such characters. History has no such 
heroes. Narrative details no such exploits as theirs. — We marvel 
as we muse upon their high and holy deeds ! As, in thought, we 
follow them, from city to city, and from one country to another, in 
their long and oft-renewed travels, in the cause of Mercy, and for 
the salvation of the souls of men, — we are surprised at them, while 
we are delighted with them. As we contemplate their unwearied 
efforts — their invincible heroism — their burning, quenchless zeal — 
their patience, in suffering, — and their noble indifference to danger 
and to death, — we are seized with the mingled emotions of admi- 
ration and astonishment. Great men ! Good men ! How instant 
in season and out of season ! How long and laborious their jour- 
nies ! How vehement their solicitude for the souls of men ! How 
unmindful of their own personal ease, comfort, or aggrandizement! 
How unmoved amid threatening deaths, and preparing tortures! 
What a meek and quiet temper they displayed ! What unshaken 
fortitude was theirs, amid insults, pains, persecutions, martyrdoms, 
and death ! Illustrious Champions of Christianity ! — While con- 
templating them, curiosity awakes to inquire, whence came a char- 
acter and conduct so sublimely singular! We cannot refrain from an 
involuntary inquisitiveness, to discover, what secretly acted upon, 
and moved these holy, mighty men, — through toils, and travels, and 
tribulations, — with such fearlessness, such "fervor, such fixedness 
of purpose and aim ! what could have made them, what they 
were ? What could have influenced them, to act as they did ? — 
We cannot but think, some mighty impulse had prompted them to 
so noble daring ! that some overwhelming consideration must have 
urged them to so arduous enterprize ! that some powerful incentive 
must have braced them up to so lofty bearing ! yes ! it was 
even so. There was something within them, that wrought upon 
them mightily ! A vast and solemn vision was ever in view of 



THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 223 

their minds ! A scene, of tremendous grandeur, and of dread de- 
cision, pressed upon their awed spirits ! That was the secret spring 
of their matchless industry : — that was the great soul of their holy 
bravery: — that was the strong incentive to their mighty move- 
ments : — that was the weighty motive, that urged them onward in 
their wonderous career of conflict and of triumph ! Looking 
through and beyond "the dark obscure," that hangs over the 
boundary lines of time, and hides from the outward sight the awful 
future, their minds' eye was constantly filled with the dread reali- 
ties of that great day, when " we must all appear before the judg- 
ment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive according to the 
things done in the body, whether good or bad." They always 
had before their minds, — the end of time, — the tribunal of their 
Lord, — the final scrutiny of the day of reckoning — the impending 
awards of eternity : and in view of these touching solemnities, and 
under the impulse, these affecting realities communicated to their 
souls, they fixed firmly, and renewed daily, their resolve, to labor 
so to "persuade men," that they themselves, as w r ell as those, who 
heard them, might " find mercy in that day." " Knowing there- 
fore the terror of the Lord," says the veteran Evangelist, — " w T e 
persuade men." This was the great, governing motive, which 
Paul here avows to have actuated himself, and fellow laborers, in 
evangelizing the world. That we may appreciate the force of this 
motive, let us investigate the Object, and the Complexion of that 
Knowledge which the Apostle professed for himself, and all the 
other Evangelists of the primitive times. 

1. The objects to be ascertained. 

This, by a figure of speech, is described to be, — " the terror of 
the Lord." What event was intended by this description? There 
can hardly be any hesitation in admitting, that " the day of judg- 
ment" is here meant. A slight glance at the context will satisfy 
you of the correctness of this exposition. The term, "therefore," 
in this passage, is well understood to be a term of sequence, which 
clearly intimates, that the language of the Text is a deduction, or 
inference, drawn from the statements in the preceding verses ; — 
"knowing therefore?'* The verse, immediately preceding, reads 
thus; — "For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of 



224 THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 

Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, 
according to that he hath done, whether it is good or bad." Then 
follows these words, " Knowing therefore." Now as this term, 
" therefore," indicates, that the same subject of these previous 
verses is continued on, and carried forward from these verses, to that 
of the Text ; — it is demonstratively certain, that by " the terror of 
the Lord" is meant the Judgment-day : the same event as is de- 
scribed, by plain and simple words, in the former verses, being 
here expressed in different and figurative language, to avoid (prob- 
ably) a monotony, or sameness of expressions. With these expla- 
nations, — the Text, for the sake of greater perspicuity, may be 
paraphrased thus : — " Knowing therefore, we must all appear before 
the judgment-seat of Christ, we persuade men." This was the 
great and solemn reality, of which the Primitive Evangelists had 
certain knowledge; and "knowing this," gave them a motive- 
power, that impelled them on in the work of the Ministry. 

"The terror of the Lord !"< — What a short, but impressive sketch 
of "that great day, for which all other days were made!" " The 
terror of the Lord!"' — What solemn ideas arise from this arousing 
representation of that final consummation of time, when all must 
stand before God, to be judged according to their deeds ! " The 
terror of the Lord !" — Dread day ! a day of terror ! Emphatically 
and peculiarly, " the terror," — " the terror," that shall out-terror 
all the terrors of the past! The supremacy of terror, "the terror 
of the Lord!" Great God! how should a distant glimpse of this 
awful day of thine, fill our souls with reverence, and inspire us 
with " great thoughts of heart ?" Will not this final, fearful day 
display to our astonished view, scenes of "terror," unparalleled in 
all the terrible phenomena of all times ? Will not this decisive 
day place every one of us in a situation, that, for our own personal 
safety, must agitate us "with terror?" And will not this day of 
reckoning close with penal consequences, that too, alas ! too many 
will be the tormenting "terror of the Lords'" wrath forever and 
ever ? with what " terror" will that last of days break upon the 
besotted world ; when the shrill blasts of God's great trump shall 
rouse the dull sleepers from their beds of sloth ; when the panic- 
shout of the Angel of Judgment shall shake the solid earth from its 



THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST 225 

centre to the opposite poles ; and when called back to conscious- 
ness by the cry, "Behold he cometh !" the dead from their graves, 
in Earths' mouldering dust, and in the Oceans' heaving depths, 
shall rise, and rush, and scramble forth into the dreadful daylight 
of eternity! What "terror" too will clothe the Lord of Angels, 
and of Men ; when the unfolding heavens shall disclose him, 
shrouded in the glare of ceaseless lightnings, — rolling towards 
earth in his chariot of golden clouds, — and holding in his red, 
right-hand the burning bolts of vexed vengeance ; while all the 
high and mighty Spirits of Heaven crowd behind him in grand 
procession, — making all the intervening space, between earth and 
sky, ring with their lofty songs, and radiant with their robes of light ! 
That gorgeous throne, where Divinity will sit in solemn state, and 
whence w T ill issue the destinies of mankind, — glowdng in lustrous, 
spotless whiteness, and glaring forth, in its shining purity, a fearful 
opposition, to the darkness of human deeds : — and " the Books," 
upborne by kneeling Cherubs on their wings outstretched, — " the 
opened Books," filled with the facts, that shall fix the fates of 
men ; — ah ! these, — who can look upon them without " terror ?" 
Then, — when the final scrutiny is passed, and " the doom of eter- 
nity hangs on the word " of the Almighty Arbiter ; can the sinner 
harden himself against his Judge, or escape "the terror" of his 
dismal voice, when the sentence goes forth, "Depart thou cursed!" 
Alas! — alas! — alas! — how will "terror" triumph, in its utmost 
extreme, over the trembling, convict crowd, — when the final, fatal 
crisis is come, — that sad moment, whence changeles retribution 
shall take its start; and the Supreme Avenger shall come forth 
from his place, — "burning with fury" as " a consuming fire," — 
to pour out all the vials of his wrath, with all their deadly, damning 
plagues, in all the fearful fulness of their w T oes, — upon the aliens 
of grace, the despisers of Gods' love and mercy! Our Father, and 
our God, — what a day of accumulated and appalling "terror" is 
thy own appointed day for recompense and for reprisal upon the 
sons and daughters of Adam ! "When the great and terrible day 
is come, who shall be able to stand?" my soul, shall I ? — My 
fellow probationer, — My Brother, — My Sister, — will you be able to 
stand, when the Judge of all shall appear ? " The Lord grant, 
29 



326 THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 

that we may find mercy of the Lord in that day!" This awful 
day,— this Judgment-day,— this " terror of the Lord," the first 
Evangelists had a knowledge of, definite, certain, comprehensive; 
and because of " knowing" this, they "persuaded men," with a 
zeal, and a perseverance, that were no less surprising, than the 
success that crowned their exertions. Hence a valuable purpose 
may be realized by us, by unfolding, 

2. The practical character of their knowledge. 

The term, "knowing," here employed, may ordinarily be taken 
in a larger, or more limited sense. In its simplest and most con- 
fined signification, "knowing a thing," merely means an indefi- 
nite acquaintance with the thing. In a further, more extended, 
and more precise use of the term, "knowing a thing" imports not 
merely a superficial acquaintance with its general notion ; but a 
clear, certain, complete, circumstantial perception of the subject, 
so as to realize to the mind the whole generally, and the particu- 
lars distinctly, as if by a present and actual presentation. It was 
in this last and largest sense of the word, the first Preachers of the 
Gospel knew "the terror of the Lord." Their " knowing the ter- 
ror of the Lord" was nothing less than a realizing consciousness of 
the Divine certainty, the affecting solemnity, and the immediate 
personality of the final Judgment. It was not common-place 
knowledge. To them, " the terror of the Lord" was something 
more than a mere matter of fact, which they credited coldly, — - 
simply because its reality was indubitable ; but with which they 
felt themselves quite unaffected, — entirely unconcerned, — totally 
unconnected. They did not regard the doctrine of the final Judg- 
ment as a speculative truth, — as a mere sentimentalism, — as an 
inoperative ideality, — as a theoretical abstraction, — as an uninter- 
esting trueism. The predictions of the Scriptures respecting its 
certainty, and sublime circumstances, were regarded, by them, 
with a state of feeling very different from that, in which we read 
the details of earthquakes, and hurricanes, that have desolated dis- 
tant regions of the Globe ; — details, which we may fully believe, 
because attested by unquestionable testimony; but which merely 
amuse our imagination, or awake our surprize, without threatening 
our own interests, or calling forth our own apprehension, or coming 



THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 227 

in contact with our own personal security, or, in any way, affect- 
ing what individually belongs to ourselves. No ! — such w T as not 
the regard, with which Paul, and his r co-laborers in the Gospel did 
"know the terror of the Lord." They knew so as to realize a 
personal concern in the decisive doings of the last great day. 
They identified themselves individually in its tremendous transac- 
tions. They viewed themselves separately and singly, as' moving 
rapidly onward to participate in its dread proceedings. To them 
its "terrors" were as "the terrible things of Gods' righteousness," 
with which they, in their own proper persons, soon would be actu- 
ally surrounded, — in which they would, at length, be individually 
involved. They perceived, their own personal well-being, final 
and eternal, would be determined by the decisions of that "day of 
terror;" — and making the circumstances of the day personally 
their own, by a realizing consciousness of them, they always acted, 
and spoke, and governed themselves, in accordance with their 
ascertained views upon the subject. Theirs was no speculative 
knowledge ! Theirs was no barren, dead faith ! Theirs was no 
cold, empty, heartless theorizing! Theirs was not the frigid, 
insensate intellectuality of a stoick rationalism! No, — it was a 
knowledge, that affected their hearts : it was a faith, that influen- 
ced their conduct: it was an intellectual perception, that filled them 
with emotion : it was an actual realization of their minds, that 
shed a sort of sacred sorcery through the whole man, and over his 
every movement. " Knowing," by a strong, definite, and indeli- 
ble impression of its truth and character, the coming "terror of the 
Lord ;" to their inmost soul, they felt, and they exemplified in 
every action of their lives, the powerful practical influence, which 
the conviction of such an event was calculated to produce. What 
then was the effect, in practice, resulting from the knowledge of 
the Primitive Evangelists ? — Its influence was considerable, both 
as to themselves, and in regard to their Hearers. 

(1.) The practical effect of this knowledge upon the Primitive 
Evangelists, as to themselves. 

A constant and deep anxiety for their own individual security, 
was the necessary result of "knowing the terror of the Lord," in 
the personal and realizing manner, already defined. Such a per- 



228 THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 

ception, as they possessed, of that solemn day, in which all will 
receive according as their works have been, unavoidably induced, 
in their minds, reflections upon the final consequences of the 
neglect, or discharge of their individual duties. " Knowing," as 
they knew, the strict and stern character, of the final Judgment, 
they could not hide from their own thoughts, that, at length, they 
themselves would be required "to give an account of their stew- 
ardship ;" and that their acquittal from condemnation, at the Di- 
vine tribunal, would depend on the manner, in which they had 
fulfilled their Ministry. Their faithfulness, or unfaithfulness in the 
discharge of their official duties, they could not avoid perceiving, 
would by no means pass unobserved at his bar, to whom " all 
things are naked and open;" and aware, as they undoubtedly 
were, that a dereliction in duties, so eminent, and so vastly mo- 
mentous, as were theirs, could not fail to entail no small retribution 
upon the delinquent, — they must have been possessed with the 
urgent conviction, that their own eternal well-being was involved 
in the right performance of their duty to the precious, immortal 
souls, entrusted to their Ministerial care. Under the pressure of 
this impression, they " persuaded men," with a solicitude, that 
knew no rest, and with a zeal, that had no bounds. " They 
watched for souls, as they that must give account, that they might 
do it with joy and not with grief." They strove with them, as if 
they had been striving for their own souls. They did not, — durst 
not desist, until their persuasions had prevailed with their Hearers. 
They seemed, from their tireless endeavors, and their unwasting 
fervor, and their unceasing solicitude, never to have thought them- 
selves safe for the coming Judgment, until all that heard them, 
were safe too, by "a title clear, to mansions in the skies." 

And has this knowledge, or its influence now become ex- 
tinct? No, — by no means. What has been said of the Prim- 
itive Evangelist, is equally applicable still to every Minister of 
the Gospel, that has not usurped the name. The race of In- 
spired Evangelists, and perhaps in some measure, their mighty, 
moral triumphs, have passed away; but not the influence, by which 
they were actuated. No. — Every good minister of Jesus Christ, 



THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 229 

still lives, and now labors, under the same views, the same hopes, 
the same solicitudes ! 

My Brethren in the Ministry, can we ever forget, that every one 
of us must give an account to God for our ministrations of the word 
of the Gospel ? Let us never loose sight of that solemn, trying 
hour, when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, to receive back from 
us, the great commission committed to us ; when " the books shall 
be opened," where all our acts are registered, and all our words set 
down ; and when the searching eye of our Divine Master will be 
fixed upon us ; — while the peremptory tone of his voice pierces to 
our very soul, as he sternly demands, — " Where are the few sheep 
I left with you in the wilderness ?" — Are we persuading men, 
under a realizing consciousness of this final and decisive interview 
with our Lord and Master? Are we preaching so as to give in our 
account "with joy and not with grief?" shall we stand ac- 
quitted of all " blood-guiltiness," when we stand among the people 
of our charge, before the judgment-seat of Christ ? Will all that 
have heard us be "our joy, and crown of rejoicing" in that day? 
Shall we indeed save our own souls, and those that hear us? 

My fellow-probationers, ever bear in mind the deep responsi- 
bility of the Ministers of the Gospel ! Be not disgusted with the 
plainness, — be not offended with the importunity of your Ministers, 
while they discharge an office so responsible, and stand before 
you in circumstances so awfully momentous! Their own souls 
are at stake. Their eternal interests are suspended upon their 
dealings with you from the Pulpit. They are looking forward to a 
tribunal, where both you, and they, will appear at last ; and where 
their Ministry will be subjected to the strictest scrutiny,' — and 
either will receive the Divine approbation, or will entail upon 
them a bitter curse. Convinced of this, Preachers cannot trifle 
with you. They must be serious. They ought to be in earnest. 
They cannot but be importunate. Contemning all other conse- 
quences, — they must plead with you, till every plea is exhausted, 
and the last energy of nature goes out. Should they only rouse 
your indignation, or provoke your contempt ; they still must perse- 
vere in their efforts to save you, even in spite of yourselves. 
Whether their exertions for your spirits' welfare should seem to 



230 THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 

you pleasing, or offensive ; — they dare not cease to strive with you, 
with all their powers, and with unrelaxing perseverance, until 
they prevail, and persuade you to be reconciled to God. How can 
it be otherwise? — Fear urges them, — love constrains them, — the 
Gospel requires them, — faith encourages them, — hope animates 
them, and the Holy Spirit helps them, — to plead with you until 
they prevail with you "to flee the wrath to come!" This is the 
representation, which the Apostle here gives, of the practical influ- 
ence of "the terror of the Lord," in reference to themselves. 
"Wherefore," — says he, — "we labour, that whether present or 
absent, we may be accepted of him." Nor was this all of the 
effect of the knowledge of the Primitive Preachers of the Gospel. — 
Observe, 

(2.) The practical influence of this knowledge, in regard to their 
Hearers. 

Having received their knowledge of a future and final Judgment 
from the lips of their Divine Master, — the Primitive Evangelists 
could not have been ignorant of the great fact, that every one of 
their Hearers, as well as themselves, must inevitably appear before 
the judgment-seat of Christ. Hence, they were not more con- 
cerned for their own personal safety, than they were solicitous on 
account of the final security of the souls of those, to whom they 
preached the Gospel. " Knowing the terror of the Lord" from 
infallible teachings, — they were well apprized, that sinners, — as 
all are till converted to God, — could, by no possibility, " escape 
the judgments of the great day," if they continued to despise, or to 
neglect the great salvation : — nay, — they still farther knew, that 
" a greater condemnation," — " a sorer punishment," would be 
awarded to those, who, by a perverse and persevering refusal of the 
claims of the Gospel, had virtually " trampled under foot the Son 
of God, and done despite unto the Spirit of grace." As their 
Hearers were in this hazardous situation, exposeH to the risk of the 
worst of woes, — liable to become obnoxious to the climax of all 
curses, — in danger of the capital punishment of the moral code, 
the great anathema of the Gospel ; — what manner of men must 
these primitive Ministers have been, with the coming Judgments 
and its impending awards always full in view, if they had been 



THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 231 

unaffected with the condition of persons in peril so imminent and 
so immense, and if they had not thrown, into their ministrations, 
their whole souls, with all their energies for the rescue ! It was 
morally impossible for men "knowing" all these Ministers knew, 
and so full of philanthropic feeling as were they, to be indifferent 
to the spiritual danger of their Hearers, or to refrain from exerting 
themselves in every possible way, and on all occasions, to deliver 
them from "so great a death." No; they "travailed in birth 
for them," till "Christ was formed in them, the hope of glory." 
Trembling in the apprehension of a catastrophe, of such misery 
and such magnitude, as the eternal rain of the souls of those, to 
whom they were deputed to dispense "the word of life:" their 
alarm roused them to effort ; and furnished, and gave energy to, 
their appeals. They plied their Hearers with importunities, dic- 
tated by the known emergency of their case, and corresponding 
with the fearful result, that must inevitably follow the failure of 
their persuasions. " Warning and teaching every man, in all 
wisdom," they gave themselves to the vast, the arduous underta- 
king, of "presenting every man perfect in Christ Jesus, at his 
coming." 

So it is now. — Every genuine evangelist, in the present day, has 
the same alarming views of the moral condition of his hearers, and 
is thereby stirred up to similar solicitudes, and like efforts for their 
salvation. Ah! yes! my heareas, — your Ministers regard you as 
the possessors of souls ! They are assured, these souls of yours 
are immortal and accountable spirits, whose value no tougne can 
utter, — whose energies no thoughts can measure ! These souls of 
yours, — your Ministers are aware, — will, in a little while, be sep- 
erate from your bodies, and be sent into the unseen state ; where 
they will be summoned into the presence of the Supreme Creator, 
and will be judged by him, according to the deeds done in the 
body! More alarmed still, — the solemn fact presses upon the 
thoughts of your Ministers, — that these souls of yours become a 
thousand-fold more, and yet more, responsible, by every successive 
sermon, you hear! When they reflect upon the future consequen- 
ces of your irreligious course, Ministers are well nigh overwhelmed ! 
As the just and sure retribution of your continued impenitency, and 



232 THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 

incorrigible unbelief, — they see, coming upon you, an illimitable 
series of sorrow, shame, and pain, reaching away far, far down the 
unending perspective of the future ; — accumulations of sorrow T , 
shame, and pain, immeasurable in magnitude, — unutterable in ca- 
lamity, — eternal in duration! Ministers cannot certainly prom- 
ise themselves another opportunity beyond the present, — to 
strive for your rescue, — to plead with you on behalf of your souls 
to press upon you the claims of the Gospel ! — Controlled by each 
and all of these overwhelming considerations, — your Ministers 
cannot relax their solicitude for you, or abate theif entreaty with 
you. They must press upon you the importunities of their moral 
persuasions, with all the abilities they possess^ and while the least 
and last hope of success remains. They dare not leave your 
souls, — these death-doomed souls, — to perish eternally. Every 
solicitude of their spiritual being, — every sympathy of their sen- 
sitive nature, — all the energies of their whole man, rise, and push 
them on to effort, in the prospects of calamity so transcendent as 
that of souls, full powerful to feel forever, — your souls! — sinking 
beyond all reach,— past all recovery!— And who can blame them ? 
Who should despise them? Why should you be displeased with 
them? Friendship,— friendship to your proper selves,— friend- 
ship to your precious souls alone prompts their pleadings with 
you ! And is love to you — love to your souls an offence ?— If 
Ministers had no real regard for your highest interests, they would 
let you alone ! If they did not value your souls,— see your dan- 
ger,— seek your eternal happiness, they would not trouble you 
with their entreaties ! But O, they behold these intelligent souls 
of yours " ready to perish; their souls yearn over your dying 
souls, with agonizing apprehensions not be expressed in mere 
words; and therefore they cannot hold their peace! They must 
strive with you, though they strive in vain : they must persuade 
you though every appeal should ultimately prove abortive ! 

In conclusion permit us once more to appeal to you, in the lan- 
guage of Pauls' address to the Thessalonians." 'For what is our 
hope, and joy, and crown of rejoicing!' Are not even ye in the 
presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, at his coming?" — The ex- 
pression, — "crown of rejoicing" — is a singular and striking al- 






THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST 233 



lusion to a practice, which prevailed in the Republic of Rome. 
When a Roman General had, by skill and valor, conquered any 
new country for the Empire, or had greatly distinguished himself 
by some remarkable victory ; it was customary for the Senate, by, 
and with the consent of the Tribunes of the people of Rome, to 
decree " a golden crown" for the triumphant General: and when, 
after his return to the Imperial City, he had what was called, "his 
triumph," — which was a day of public rejoicing set apart for the 
purpose of doing honor to the General, — "the crown," decreed to 
him for his military achievements, was formally placed on his head; 
and wearing this " crown," seated in a splendid car, he was con- 
ducted through the principal streets to the Capitol, amid the shouts 
applauses and congratulations of the enthusiastic population, who 
assembled in crowds to be spectators of the General's triumph.— 
Such was the scene, — such the circumstance to which the apos- 
tle alludes, when he here speaks of the Thessalonians as "his 
crown of rejoicing, at the coming of Christ." — Paul was antici- 
pating "a public triumph," when he should go up to meet the 
Lord on the Judgment-day. He was looking forward to that day 
when, he anticipated, he should come into the presence of his Di- 
vine Master, — not alone but in a crowd, — thronged about with a 
numerous company composed of those, for whose salvation he had 
longed and labored, while he lived on earth. He was expecting, 
that these Thessalonians would form, neither the least numerous, 
nor the least conspicuous portion of that holy, happy throng, that 
should accompany him in his triumphant appearance before the 
Divine throne. Hoping for, what he so much desired, that they 
would be found "in the Lord" on that great day, and that " saved 
in the Lord," they would be owned and proclaimed by the Sovereign 
Judge, before the assembled millions of the Universe, as the un- 
doubted seals of his Ministry, — -the legitimate fruits of his evan- 
gelic labors, Paul assured himself, that they would bring upon him 
the approval, the applause, and the acclamations, — of God, of an- 
gels, and of the myriads of beings from all worlds, that would 
cover him, — as with "a triumphal crown," — with a glory and hon- 
or, amid the delight of which he should revel in the raptures "of 
rejoicing," as in one eternal public triumph! — We too, my hearers, 
30 



234 THE PRIMITIVE EVANGELIST. 

as well as Paul, are ambitious to have a triumph, on the last, great 
day : — and shall we not have you in our train, to grace our appear- 
ance in the presence of the Lord? — Alarmed at your danger, — yet 
are you "the hope" of our ministry ; your conversion to God would 
indeed be "our joy;" — and saved in the Lord, — saved finally — 
will you be " our crown," — our " rejoicing crown," when Christ 
comes to judgement? when we approach "the great white 
throne," among a company of the heirs of salvation, whom we 
have been instrumental in saving, to present them as the trophies 
of our Evangelical labors; — will our hearts be then rejoiced 
at seeing you in our triumphal band? — Alas! — alas! — as we 
enter into the august presence of our approving Sovereign Christ, 
" on his throne of glory," and look around us, encompassed about 
by a cloud of witnesses to the success of our prayers and persua- 
sions ; — shall we be damped, amid our delight, by finding you 
missing? — And when we, and our company of saved ones, appro- 
ved and applauded by our smiling Lord, are waved away to his 
right hand, to take our place in the triumphal procession, at the 
head of which the King of glory will, at the close of the judg- 
ment, lead up the whole host of redeemed, to the highest heaven; 
beloved brethren, will you and will you, dear sisters, be seen at a 
distance, — far, far on the left hand, awaiting the withering words, 
"Depart ye cursed?" — "Knowing therefore this terror of the 
Lord, we would persuade you, to flee from the wrath to come." 




SERMON VIII. 



THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS WHICH THE TRIUMPHS OF THE GOSPEL 

ACCOMPLISH. 

" These that have turned the world upside down, are come hither also." — 
Acts 17 chap : 6 verse. 

Christianity has come down to us, — "travelling in the greatness 
of its strength." Clothed with a moral energy, — a strength of 
evidence, — a strength of motive, — a strength of influence, — and a 
strength of attraction, constantly accumulating ; — Christianity has 
passed through seventeen centuries, and reached our day, — not 
only unimpaired, but stronger and more glorious than ever :— the 
boast and admiration of its Friends ; the wonder and confusion of 
its Foes ! That Christianity still survives is not a little surprising ; 
but that, in this late day of its history, it should be more vigorous, 
more powerful, more triumphant, than in any previous period, is, 
not only a wonder ; but a palpable, living, standing Miracle,-— 
the Wonder of all Wonders! The religion of Jesus has made its 
way down to us, through the stern array of the confederated 
Powers of Earth and of Hell, combined together for its overthrow. 
It has, in all ages, been opposed by Men and Devils ; — resisted, at 
each step, by every kind and degree of hostility ; — and assailed, 
on all sides, by every aspect, and instrument of intimidation. It 
has come to us, amid the clanking of fetters and of chains ; — 
through the Prisons' gloom, and the Dungeons' dread sufferings ; — 
at the point of the Executioners' knife ; — over scenes of racking 
torture ; — and through the slow consuming fires of martyrdom ; 
calumniated with every foul aspersion, that human hatred, or 
fiendish malice could invent to cloud, or to blot its fair fame! At 
different times, Christianity has been assaulted, and outraged by 
persons of every class, and of every character ; — by the Jew and 
the Gentile ; — by the Learned and the Vulgar ; — by Priest and by 



236 THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 

People ; — by Sovereigns and by their Subjects ; — by the constituted 
Civil Authorities and by the lawless Rabble : — each, in turn, 
offering, in excuse of their wilful hostilities, some false accusation 
against that blessed " name, once every where spoken against." 
First, Bigotry, — personified in the hearts and actions of the Jewish 
Priests and Rulers,— wielded all the formidable powers of the 
Great Sanhedrim to crush the Christian cause in its very infancy ; 
sternly demanding " Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" 
Next, the Vain Philosophy of Paganism, — mustering up all the 
resources of invention, and all its instruments of opposition, — 
endeavored its utmost, by sophistry, wit, and ridicule, to render 
the Religion of the Cross, in the esteem of both Greek and Jew, 
the veriest "foolishness." " Then the Kings of the Earth set 
themselves, and the Rulers took counsel together against the Lords' 
Anointed," and against "his glorious Gospel;" and with all their 
bloody tools of power, employed in the most savage and unrelent- 
ing persecutions, — labored to annihilate every vestige of the Chris- 
tian system, and to exterminate every Follower of the Cross. Last 
of all, — when Human Sovereignties, armed with all the terrors of 
" pains and penalties," and exerting all the force of civil power, 
and all the expedients of civil authority, — had failed to arrest the 
onward triumphs of the cause of Christ ; the outbreaking populace 
rushed together in riot, to mob it down. What now? — Why, 
Christianity is alive still ! — still lives triumphantly ! — after all the 
machinations of Bigotry, after all the persecutions of Tyranny, — 
after all the sophistries of sages, — after all the stratagems of policy, 
and after all the violence of Anarchy ; — yes ! after all these have 
waged war, with deadly determination against Christianity ; — it 
still more than lives, — it triumphs gloriously ! — "Alleluia!" — and 
let all the people say, "Amen. Alleluia!" 

In the section of Ecclesiastical History, now before us, we have 
an example of the last mentioned kind of hostility, with which the 
Christian Religion has had to contend, — the hostility of Mobism. 
Paul, and Silas, having visited Thessalonica, preached the Gospel 
of Christ, in that city, with considerable success. Several profli- 
gate Jews, residing there, became provoked at the prosperity of the 
Christian cause ; and they resolved to expel the Apostles, with 



THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 237 

their Friends, from the City. With this design, they collected a 
riotous mob, composed "of the base sort" of the inhabitants; and 
inciting trie tumult to acts of violence, they raised a complete 
uproar in the city. Having thus prepared the excited multitude, 
they led them in search of Paul and Silas ; but being unable to 
find the Apostles, they violently seized upon Jason and several 
other Christians ; and dragging them rudely before the City-Mag- 
istrates, accused them in the language of the Text : — " These that 
have turned the world upside down, are come hither also." 

Such a charge, from such characters, and in such circumstances, 
would have had little weight before an impartial tribunal. At this 
very time, and on this very occasion, these violent men were them, 
selves, as far as they were able, doing that very thing, which they 
now charged upon the Christians, — namely, — " turning the world 
upside down." They had set at defiance the municipal laws, and 
Civil Authorities, by collecting together in a Mob: they had caused 
a state of anarchy in the city, by raising a Riot : they had com- 
mitted a capital offence against the stability. and the well-being of 
Society, by violating the personal liberty of unoffending citizens : 
and surely if any measures are calculated to have such an effect, 
these outrageous acts of theirs went directly " to turn the world 
upside down." — We should wonder more at this gross inconsis- 
tency of these accusers of Christianity, were such discrepancy less 
common in our day among the Enemies of Religion. That Men 
acting as these Thessalonian Rioters now acted, should thus accuse 
the Religion of Jesus with those very injuries, which they them- 
selves were now actually perpetrating, would seem strange ; if a 
similar course were not usual for the Opponents of Christianity in 
the present day. Modern Infidels have strove hard to show, that 
the Christian system is prejudicial to wordly interests, and perni- 
cious to secular pursuits : and yet if the principles, which these 
Infidels avow, and endeavor to carry out into their practice, were 
to gain a general credence, and to govern mankind in their con- 
duct universally ; they would soon effect a complete disruption of 
civil society, in the entire overthrow of all the social, and civil 
relations of life. To repel the accusation in the Text, therefore it 
would be sufficient to show, that this charge comes from Charac- 



238 THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OE THE GOSPEL. 

ters, who, by reason of their own professed disorganizing principles, 
are entitled to no credit, in a case of this nature ; — inasmuch as, 
he who acts upon principles, which necessarily make him a Sub- 
verter of the World, is ill fitted to accuse Christianity w 7 ith " turn- 
ing the world upside down." But we shall go farther than this. 
The benevolent character of our Holy Religion demands more at 
our hands. We, therefore shall endeavor to show, that the accu- 
satory words before us, are false in one sense, but true in another. 

Pursuing this plan, we shall exhibit the charge in the Text, 
to be, 

I. A groundless calumny. 

"These that have turned the world upside down." — The ene- 
mies of the Gospel, in these words, accuse Christianity with the 
purpose of "turning the w r orld upside down." In the sense they 
intended, the Charge is, that the aim and tendency of the Christian 
Religion are to overturn, or to accomplish the overthrow of the 
salutary arrangements and useful institutions of civil society in the 
world. These Maligners of Christianity meant to represent it, as 
a Disorganizer, destroying, in its progress, whatever is necessary, 
beneficial, conservative, and is capable of promoting and perpetu- 
ating the peace and secular welfare of the public communities of 
the world. According to the slanderous representations of these 
Libellers, — if the design of Christianity were realized universally, 
and if its influences w T ere, every where, predominant, — "the 
world," devasted and disorganized under its operations, would be 
left without a vestige, of what establishes and adorns domestic 
life; or of what cements, consolidates, and contributes to the pros- 
perity of, civil society ; or of what is indispensable to the being 
and permanency of the political institutions of public governments: 
and that in the proportion that its subverting influence has pre- 
vailed, to the same extent have these disastrous consequences 
marked its progress and sway in the world. 

This is the accusation, in the sense meant by these Thessalo- 
nian Impugners of the disciples of Jesus: and we may fearless- 
ly assert, that the charge is a gross and flagitious libel upon the 
Christian Religion. Nothing in the requirements of the Gospel ; 
nothing in the character of its Disciples ; nothing in the history of 



THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 239 

its progress; nothing in the instructions, institutions and example 
of its Great Author; nothing whatever warrants in the least a sus- 
picion of such aim or tendency in Christianity. To be fully per- 
suaded that this is a fact, — we need only observe, that the Chris- 
tian Religion does not impair the relations of domestic life; it 
does not disturb the institutions of Civil Society; it deos not 
interfere with the prerogatives of human governments. 

1. Christianity does not impair the relations of domestic life in 
"the world." 

It does not dissolve one tie, nor weaken one principle, not set 
aside one arrangement, which involves the order, the happiness, 
or the welfare of a family. Nay so far from having an injurious 
influence upon the elements of domestic life, Christianity is the 
sweetner and the strengthener of the social compact. It gives to 
every social relation the sanction of Deity; and not only encour- 
ages, but inspires, these domestic virtues, which form the bond of 
union, and furnish the sources of pleasure in the family circle. — 
Indeed, if there be a domestic scene, in which order, union, and 
harmony prevail in a more that ordinary degree; — where the par- 
ental authority is honored, and the amenities of affection are con- 
spicuous, beyond what is common ---that surpassing scene is, 
where the Gospel has shed its heavenly influences, sweetly and 
sacredly controlling all the feelings, and all the actions of all the 
members of that hallowed home ! It is there the domestic duties 
are performed in their loveliest manner! It is there, the social 
virtues are seen in their highest style! It is there, the household 
felicities have their most luxuriant fertility! Drops religion into 
a family; let all its members bear its benovolent image, and 
breathe its soft spirit ; and if ever a Heaven be found on earth, it 
is there, — in that holy happy family ! What more could be done 
than Christianity has done, to bless, to elevate, and to embellish 
the family circle ? — The Gospel not only allows, but requires, that 
deference, and that submission to parental authority, which forms 
the basis of domestic regulations. It is written, " Children, obey 
your parents in all things:" — "honor thy Father and thy Mother." 
That tender and reciprocal affection between husband and wife 
that throws a charm over every thing in the family circle, and that 



240 THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 

makes life move on so smoothly, — is. not only deemed desirable 
by the Gospel, but is rendered divinely obligatory by precept, in- 
junction and example. "Husbands love your wives :" — "Wives 
love your own husbands:" these are the requirements of Christi- 
anity. — The unanimity, mutual kindness, patient forbearance, and 
unwearied sympathy, between all the inmates of the household, 
which are so essential to the tranquility, enjoyment and prosperity 
of a family, — are among the most frequent topics, upon which 
the Gospel expatiates, and respecting which its language is de- 
cidedly imperative. "Be kind, tender-hearted, forgiving one 
another;" — "Be kindly affectionate one to another;" — Bear ye 
one anothers burdens ; — " Be ye of one mind ;" — are commands 
of Christianity, that need no comment. — These examples surely 
are enough to show how unfounded is the malignant accusation 
of the text. So far as family relations are concerned, it is evi- 
dent, that the Christian religion does no such thing as " turn the 
world upside down." It does not aim, nor does its influence 
tend, to subvert, or, in the least, to counteract, the connections, 
regulations, and social tendencies, which are essential to the order 
stability, or enjoyments of domestic life. On the contrary,—- 
Christianity promotes those virtues, and enjoins those duties, 
which give strength and beauty to every social relationship. It 
scatters the flowers of Paradise around the domestic scene, and 
converts the family circle into a circle of heavenly loves ! 

2. Christianity does not disturb the institutions of Civil Society 
in "the world." 

The organization of the Civil Community, and also its legitimate 
avocations, are left untouched by the Gospel. It not only, does 
not attempt to break up human society ; but it does not interfere 
with any of the pursuits, practices, or obligations, which are neces- 
sary, or beneficial, for the maintenance of the civil community, and 
for the furtherance of its general prosperity. Christianity requires 
all its Disciples to be good citizens ; and, in that character, not 
only " to provide things honest in the sight of all men," but also 
to promote the common good. Nay, not only does it require them 
"to do good unto all men;" but it obliges them "to be ready 
unto every good work," which the Civil Authorities may propose. 



THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 241 

While it requires them, " as much as in them lies, to live peace- 
ably with all men;" it also enjoins men, "to love their neighbor, 
as themselves," and, of course, to give them all the friendly aid in 
their power. While it commands them to be " tender hearted ;" 
it also obligates them, " to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, 
to visit the sick, to comfort the distressed." How a Religion, that 
requires its Disciples to practice such philanthropy, in the Civil 
community, can be supposed " to turn the world up side down ;" 
would be difficult to explain ! It is true, Christianity calls upon 
us, "to come out of the world," and "to be separate:" — and 
many persons, during the dark ages of papal darkness, — profes- 
sing to act in obedience to these, and similar injunctions of the 
New Testament, — banished themselves from human society alto- 
gether, and lived alone, remote from the busy haunts of men, in 
solitary cells, and in secret caves of the earth. The practice, 
which these persons adopted, — it cannot be denied, — was undoubt- 
edly injurious to society ; and were such a practice to become 
universal among men, — would necessarily destroy the organization 
of civil society entirely : because there could be no civil commu- 
nity, if all lived apart from all others, and each individual acted 
independently of each other. But these men were wild Enthusi- 
asts, — if not worse, and misunderstood, and misinterpreted the 
intention of the scriptures, under which they professed to act. 
The separation, which these scriptures require, is a separation, — 
not from the society, but from the sins of the world ; — a renuncia- 
tion, — not of its community, but of its corruptions ; — a forsaking, — 
not of its pursuits, but of its vices ; — a seclusion, — not from its 
business and commerce, but from its follies and crimes! This is 
fully explained by the inspired Apostle of the Christian Faith, 
where he declares, " I wrote unto you in a former Epistle, not to 
company with fornicators: yet not altogether with the fornicators 
of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idola- 
ters ; for then must ye needs go out of the world." The plain 
meaning of the passage is, that Christians, in fulfilling their holy 
calling, are not literally to leave the world of mankind : they are 
not actually to exclude themselves from all intercourse with worldly 
persons ; but they are to retain their places, and to perform their 
31 



242 THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 

proper part in the civil community, in which they are placed. — 
The same inspired writer in his Epistle to the Thessalonians is still 
more explicit, where he writes, " For we hear, that there are some 
among you, who walk disorderly, working not at all. — Now them 
that are such, we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, 
that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread." — How 
manifest then is this slander, which charges Christianity with 
" turning the world upside down !" It is clear as a demonstration, 
that the religion of Jesus, neither aims at the disruption of society; 
nor has it any tendency whatever to disturb any of its legitimate 
pursuits, or regulations ! Can it be inimical to the well-being of 
the civil community, or prejudicial to the proper claims of lawful 
business, — " To do unto others, as we would they should do unto 
us £ — to be ready unto every good work ; — to seek after peace ; — 
to owe no man any thing, but to love one another ; — to be diligent 
in business; — to do justly, to love mercy, and to do good unto all 
men ?" All this, Christianity requires, and promotes in the civil 
community, wherein its influence predominates ; and therefore, is 
so far from tending to overthrow, the Order, the Institutions, and 
the Secular Interests of the Civil Communities of the World ; that 
in proportion to the extent in which its righteous principles per- 
vades them, and influences their action, it renders them more sta- 
ble, more peaceable, and more prosperous ! The Great Rectifier 
of human wrongs ! The heaven-sent pacificator, that is to hush, 
and to harmonize, the agitated and jarring elements of the world, 
and to restore the equilibrium of equity and love between man and 
man ! — it may safely be asserted, that if a civil community could 
be found, where all its Members, in all respects, acted out the 
philanthropic precepts of Christianity ; — that would be a commu- 
nity, for peace, harmony, and prosperity, such as the sun never 
yet looked down upon, within the bounds of human habitation, 
upon the entire surface of our Globe ! In such a christianized 
community, no wrongs would be felt, or feared ; — " no complain- 
ing would be heard in their streets •" — violence would be a stran- 
ger ; — crime would not exist; — prisons would no longer be need- 
ed ; — want would be unknown ; — strife would be suppressed with 
the spirit of prompt conciliation : — peace, pleasure, concord, and 



THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 243 

virtue would pervade every bosom, and every scene ! It would be 
as Paradise restored ! " Happy are the people, that are in such 
a case ! Yea, happy would that People be, with God for their 
Lord! 

3. Christianity does not interfere with the prerogatives of Human 
Governments. 

When the Divine Author of the Gospel first began to prefer his 
claims upon mankind, He excited the jealousy of the Roman Gov- 
ernment, who were tempted to treat him, as a Rival of Caesar, and 
as a Usurper of his Imperial prerogatives. No sooner however 
was he questioned upon the subject, than He, at once, convinced 
them, how groundless were their suspicions, and how completely 
foreign irom his object was temporal jurisdiction, or regal supre- 
macy. His good confession, which He witnessed before Pontius 
Pilate, was, "My kingdom is not of this world." The declara- 
tion immediately set at rest all the jealousies of the Romans. 
They perceived at once, that the Imperial Government had nothing 
to fear from the establishment of a Kingdom of this character, — 
which required no armies for its support, or its defence ; — which 
permitted no carnal weapons of warfare to extend its triumphs, or 
to vanquish its foes ; — and which accomplished its conquests, and 
achieved its victories, without bloodshed, without violence, and 
without mortal suffering. This fact would, of itself, be enough to 
set aside the calumny of the Text, without further, or additional 
evidences : — but Christianity admits of a much more decisive justi- 
fication. While the Gospel does not assault political governments, 
in an hostile manner, nor interfere with their administrations, in 
the way of aggression ; it does much, to secure their stability, and 
to facilitate their operations. It makes obedience to " the powers 
that be," a duty, sacred, and binding upon all the Disciples of 
Christ. Christianity goes even farther than this : — it assures us, 
that the Government-Authorities are " ordained of God ;" and it 
commands us, to be " subject to them, not only for wrath, but for 
conscience sake." Nay, the Gospel, not only represents "the 
powers that be" as "ordained of God:" but, that our obedience 
to " these powers" may be regarded as more solemn and obliga- 
tory ; and may be rendered with greater consideration, and con- 



S44 THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 

scientiousness, — it declares, "He that resisteth these powers, 
resisteth not merely man, but God himself." — It will serve to 
make all these statements, relative to the claims of Human Gov- 
ernments, more conclusive, if we recollect, that the Apostle who 
recorded these statements, and the primitive Christians, to whom 
they were originally addressed, were living under the Government 
of the Romans, who had conquered their respective countries; and 
whose right to rule, where the Apostle and his fellow Christians 
had their residence, was merely the right acquired by conquest. 
If obedience to the constituted authorities of government were en- 
joined in such a case, where the right to exercise sovereign powers 
was obtained by means so questionable ; — does not the fact demon- 
strate, how careful Christianity has been to avoid the reproach, that 
would have been cast upon its agency, by the Givil defection, and 
the seditious conduct of its living Representatives ? — What then 
could be a grosser calumny, than to accuse the Gospel with the 
design of subverting Human Government ! It is obvious, that the 
religion of Jesus meddles not, by an hostile interference, with the 
prerogatives of political rulers ; and it is equally manifest, that it 
helps, in no small measure, their rightful administrations. 

We have now viewed Christianity in all its bearings upon the 
world ; and in every respect, we find the accusation, expressed 
in the Text, to be false and slanderous. Christianity does not 
" turn upside down," the Domestic Society, nor the Civil Com- 
munities, nor the Human Governments, of the World; but renders 
them all more stable, more happy and more excellent! The 
charge therefore, presented in these words, is basely false in the 
sense intended. In another and better sense, however, the words 
of the Text are undoubtedly true. Hence, we have to consider the 
Text as expressing 

II. An acknowledged Truth. 

The Christian Religion will never cease its triumphant pro- 
gress, until its holy influences shall overspread the whole earth. 
When this consummation is fully secured, it will cause a Moral 
Revolution throughout the entire world of mankind, which may be 
figuratively expressed by, " Turning the world upside down."— 
" Behold,"— says the Savior, — "I sit upon my throne, and create 



T3E MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THB &OSPJBL. 2io 

all things nsw! Lo, I create new heavens, and a new earth, 
wherein dwelleth righteousness; and the former things shall be 
remembered no more." — When this great moral change has been 
wrought upon all by the transforming influence of Christianity, — so 
that mankind every where all become " new creatures," and all 
live "in newness of life;" — it will be but truth in a figuie, to 
represent "the world" as "turned upside down." The moral 
condition of the world will then be reversed as completely as the 
globe of the earth would be if its poles were to change places, and 
the North to assume the position of the South, and the South that 
of the North. If then we apply the words of the text to the full 
and final completion of the designs of Chritianity over all the world, 
they undoubtedly contain an unquestionable Truth. 

There is however another and more limited sense, in which these 
figurative expressions are equally correct. In every single instance 
of the triumphs of Christianity, a revolution of mind and character 
is produced, that may be said "to turn the world upside down." — 
Man himself has been not inaptly called a Microcosm, — a little 
world within himself; and this world, included in the Man, is 
completely "turned upside down," when the Gospel succeeds to 
produce in him that spiritual regeneration, which is its principal 
design. In fact, the Gospel comes short of its aim, when it does 
not thus "turn upside down" the world of man. Its aims at no- 
thing less than a revolutionizing of mankind. Its other effects are 
only incidental, or merely consequent upon its main operation. If 
it brightens the intellect ; or expands the scope of thought ; or 
polishes the manners ; or civilizes the modes of life ; — these are 
not its first and main business. It has a loftier object, — a mightier 
work, — a more intricate and a more excellent purpose to accom- 
plish in men. It has " to turn upside down" the world within 
them ; it has to convert them ; it has to reverse their thoughts, 
their feelings, their hopes, their desires, and their practices ; it has 
to translate them from death unto life ; it has to make them " new 
creatures," and to lead them "to live in newness of life;" and 
unless the Gospel effects this moral revolution in men, it does not 
reach the full measure of its design. 

We do not conceal, my hearers, that our object in preaching to 



246 THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 

you the Gospel is neither more nor less, nor otherwise, than this. 
We honestly confess ourselves to be revolutioners ! We propose 
to ourselves nothing short of " turning the world of mankind up- 
side down!" We shall lose our labor among you; — our Gospel 
will be preached in vain ; — we shall miss our object, and fail of 
our reward ; — if the world w T ithin you is not revolutionized — if your 
spiritual and moral natures are not created anew, — if old things do 
not pass away and all things become new to you, — if the world of 
mind, of feeling, and of practice, is not, in your case, " turned 
upside down !" To secure the attention, — to please the imagina- 
tion, — to warm the passions, — to convince the judgment, and even 
to instruct the intellect, — will not satisfy us : — nothing will satisfy 
us, but a complete spiritual change in you, — a real conversion of 
soul, in which your own spiritual world shall be revolutionized. 
This is the great design of the Gospel ; and this is our design. 
That you may clearly comprehend our aim with you, — permit me 
to observe, — when the Gospel accomplishes its object, it " turns 
upside down," the world of sentiment, — the world of feeling, — and 
the world of practice. 

1. The world of sentiment, in man, is "turned upside down," 
when the Gospel completes its aim. 

As in the original creation, when darkness brooded over the 
material world, God said "Let there be light, and there w r as 
light ;" so in the spiritual creation, effected through the agency of 
the Gospel, — the sin-benighted world of mind, in man, is " brought 
out of darkness into marvellous light." No sooner does the Gospel 
produce in men its appropriate effects, than the darkness of igno- 
rance and of error is dissipated from their minds, and is succeeded 
by the light of truth and of salvation. When " the preaching of 
Christ crucified" becomes "the power of God unto salvation," — 
the moral sentiments of the persons, thus savingly affected, are, 
figuratively speaking, " turned upside down :" — their views upon 
religious subjects are at once revolutionized. The notions of unre- 
generate persons are generally and fatally erroneous, both with 
regard to themselves, and all other beings and objects, with which 
they are connected by moral relations : but these notions are im- 
mediately changed, when the persons are converted under the 



THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 247 

preaching of the Gospel ; and this change of views is so surprising 
and so complete, that the world of mind maybe said to be virtually 
"turned upside down" in the transforming operation. 

What a change of views takes place, with regard to their own 
state and character, when persons are savingly converted by the 
Gospel ! Persons, destitute of religion, are profoundly ignorant of 
themselves. In general, they imagine themselves to be in a com- 
paratively good state ; and they perceive not the deep depravity, 
that pollutes their hearts, nor the awful guilt, that attaches to their 
conduct. If they are not fully and entirely satisfied with them- 
selves, — still they look upon the defects of their motives, and the 
delinquencies of their practice, only as casual, and unavoidable 
infirmities, which are rather to be accounted a misfortune, than to 
'be invested w r ith criminality. On the whole, they flatter them- 
selves, that there is, both in their heart and life, much to approve, 
and to commend them ; and that the good in them, at least will be 
a sufficient offset to their failings and faults. But when the Gospel 
sheds the light of its revelations over their renewed minds, these 
notions respecting themselves undergo a change, which amounts 
to a complete revolution of sentiment. Their hearts, — which they 
were wont, once, to think, had a deal of goodness about them, — 
are now seen by them to be " deceitful above all things, and des- 
perately wicked." Their conduct, — which they formerly regarded 
with a feeling of ostentatious complacency, or self-righteous con- 
ceit, — is now viewed, not only, as destitute of all moral good ; but 
f. as an unclean thing," exceedingly sinful and odious in the sight 
of heaven. Previously the sinner, in self-adulation, thanked him- 
self, in the name of God, that " He was not as other men:" now. 
the Gospel having taught him the real truth of himself, He ex- 
claims, in deep self-abasement, " I, the chief of sinners am ; but 
Jesus died for me !" O, what a revolution of views is here ! 
Could any world be "turned upside down" more entirely, than 
the world of thought is in those persons, upon whom the Gospel 
thus savingly operates ? 

The alteration of sentiment is equally great, in reference to the 
Divine Being, when persons are truely converted by the Gospel. 
The unconverted of mankind have wrong views of God. They, 



248 THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL, 

almost universally, regard the Deity, as an object of dread ; and 
they conceive of his dealings with the human race, as the acts of 
a being, who because he has power to dispose of them as he 
chooses, therefore treats them in a despotic manner, just as his 
own arbitrary caprice may influence him, without any regard either 
to equity, or benevolence. If unconverted persons attain to more 
exalted sentiments of the divine being, — still they amount to little 
more than indefinite notions of a profuse and profligate goodness, 
of the same stamp as the ruinous prodigality of a reckless spend- 
thrift; or else to blind speculations respecting a Mercy, which is 
at eternal war with justice, and which, if its licentious sway were 
to obtain, would involve the moral universe in eternal anarchy. 
O, how surprizingly, and how suddenly too, these dark and para- 
lizing views of the Divine Being, give place to other, and more 
honorable sentiments, when the Gospel" "breaks in upon the 
mind, with kind and quickening rays!" God is now seen to be 
goodness itself, — " the perfection of excellency." Instead of a 
mere arbitrary Omnipotence, divested of every thing but a power 
to trample down all his creatures, and only to be contemplated as 
an object of servile fear; — He is now beheld to be a boundless 
Benevolence, exercising all Divine attributes in the emanations of 
its kindness, and deserving all the love, and all the services, that 
all his creatures can give to him ! He, that was dreaded as an 
Almighty Despot, is now devoutly admired, and affectionately 
trusted, as a divine friend ! His mercy, — which was once suppo- 
sed to be at variance with equity, and was thought to be exercised 
to the disparagement of all other moral perfections, — is now under- 
stood to act always in concert, and in connexion, with every other 
attribute of Deity, harmonizing, illustrating, and glorifying, them 
all in the work of human redemption ! The sovereignty of the Su- 
preme Ruler, which erewhile excited only thoughts of alarm; 
is now viewed as the supremacy of love, enthroned in grace, and 
seeking in all its administrations, the happiness of all, who will 
submit to its gentle and genial sway. The glorious Godhead,— 
hitherto contemplated with a sense of distance, diffidence, distrust, 
and sometimes with dismay, — is now happily known, and tran- 
quilly confided in, as " the God of all grace," whose delight is his 



THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPKL. 249 

mercy!— Yes! — such a transmutation of sentiment, relative to the 
Divine Being, the Gospel always operates, when its truths triumph 
in the conversion of sinners : and surely, in such a change of 
views, the world of mind must be " turned upside down !" 

There is also a revolution of sentiment equally great, as to the 
way of salvation, when the Gospel gains its object with man. In 
general, salvation is not deemed by them necessary, — at least, not 
of immediate necessity ; because sin is not seen in the light of its 
true sinfulness, and the heart is not understood to be the seat of 
essential evil, until the Gospel removes the blinding veil from their 
minds. By some, — who have been brought to admit the necessity 
of salvation, — a life free from vice and crime,— or a series of ac- 
tions, that have conferred temporal benefits upon mankind, — are 
rested upon, as the ground of acceptance with God, and the basis 
of the hope of eternal life. Others again, — who renounce the 
merit of human efforts, and who professedly adopt the theory of 
scriptural truth, — vainly imagine that an observance of the forms, 
and an acquaintance with the doctrines of Religion, are sufficient 
for the purposes of salvation. But when the Gospel discloses, to 
these dupes " of their own deceivings," " the truth as it is in 
Jesus," — all these "refuges of lies, wherein they had trusted," 
are at once demolished. Their previous notions, — of the deserv- 
ingness of their good deeds, or of the veniality of their general con- 
duct, — of the sufficincy of external performances, and of theoreti- 
cal knowledge, — are all instantly discarded, " as dung and dross;" 
and they now are convinced, that Christ is the only way, — He is 
the only truth, — He the only life ! It is now made self-evident to 
them, by " the demonstration of the spirit," that " that the blood 
of Christ" can alone atone their guilt, — that "his righteousness" 
can alone secure their acceptance, — that "his spirit" can alone 
purify their hearts, — that " his power" can alone bring them to 
heaven ! All their old notions are passed away ; behold, all have 
become new ! — Is not this a complete reverse of views ? — And if 
the Gospel makes such a revolution in the world of thought, is not 
its rectifying agency justly exhibited, when it is represented, as 
" turning the world upside down ?" 

It is to accomplish such an overthrow of " all that exalteth and 
32 



250 THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 

opposeth itself against God ; — it is to produce such an inversion of 
views in favor of heart-felt religion, in which darkness is superse- 
ded by light, — error is exchanged for truth, — "the wisdom that is 
from beneath," is replaced with "the wisdom that is from above;" 
it is thus to "turn the w T orld upside down," that is our aim in 
preaching the Gospel to you ! If we should succeed with you, — 
we may declare of you, what was affirmed, by the Apostle, of the 
first converts of the Gospel, — ■" Ye were darkness, but now are ye 
light in the Lord!" 

2. The world of feeling, in man, is "turned upside down," 
when the Gospel secures its object. 

None of the phases produced by the successful operations of 
Christianity are more obvious, or more striking, than the change, 
which its transforming energy works in the moral feelings of man. 
The promise is, — " A new heart will I give you, and a right spirit 
will I put within you : I will take the stony heart out of your flesh, 
and give you hearts of flesh." The Gospel verifies, and illustrates 
this great promise, in the astonishing revolution of the ruling pas- 
sions, and affections of the individuals, who are converted by its 
mighty power. If there be one particular, in which such converted 
persons are new men and new women, more than in any other, — 
it is in feeling. Their preferences, and their antipathies, — wh at 
they love, and what they hate, — w T hat they desire, and what they 
loathe, — their likes and dislikes, are now essentially new. There 
is now, as compared with their previous state, an alteration of 
feeling as x entire and decided, as there would be an inversion of the 
material world, were its axis reversed. Prior to their conversion, 
they were " lovers of pleasure ;" — now, they " delight themselves 
in God!" Once their affections were set on things beneath;" now, 
they are fixed " on things above." Formerly, they were " ene- 
mies of all righteousness;" — now, they "follow after holiness!" 
Previously, they loved sin, " as a sweet morsel ;" — now, they 
"hate even the garment spotted with the flesh!" Hitherto, their 
hearts were " enmity to God; — now, they "love the Lord, wdth 
all their heart, and soul, and strength !" Before, the people of 
God were to them " a loathing," and as " the offscouring of all 
things ;" — now, "their delight is with the excellent of the earth, 



THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 251 

and with them that excel in virtue !" Antecedently, they said, in 
their dislike to devotion, — " What is the Almighty, that we should 
serve him ? — and what profit shall we have, if we pray unto him?" 
now, from the pleasure they realize in prayer, they exclaim, — "It 
is good for us" to draw near unto God !" Erst, the house of God 
was a tedious and a tiresome place ; — now, the language is, " I 
have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thy 
honor dwelleth!" Heretofore, the Bible was a mysterious and 
uninteresting book; — now, they "meditate therein day and night," 
and its precepts are, to them, " sweeter than honey, or the drop- 
pings of the honey-comb!" Aforetime, earth was the home of 
their hearts, and "the things of earth" were the absorbing objects 
of their desire ; — now, " their treasure is in heaven ; — their hearts 
are there also ; — and its bliss is the cynosure of their souls, — the 
heaven of their highest hopes, — the grand focus where all their 
best affections concentre! In one word, — before their conversion, 
they w T ere, in their feelings, " earthly ;" after, "heavenly minded:" 
before, their feelings were "sensual ;" now, they are "spiritual:" 
before, they were " diabolic, hateful, and hating one another ;" 
now, they " love all men," but " especially the household of 
faith !" 0, what a revolution is here? What a reverse of feeling! 
What a change of affections ! W T ere the savage wolf to exhibit 
the gentleness of the sucking lamb ;--or, were the voracious eagle 
to display the tenderness of the cooing dove ; — or, were the malig- 
nant serpent to put on a friendly disposition to human kind ; — the 
metamorphosis, in these instances, w T ould not be greater, or more 
surprising, than when the sinner, through the saving power of the 
Gospel, becomes so marked a contrast to his former self; exhibit- 
ing as he does, in his prevailing passions, and governing affections, 
a revolution as complete as it is delightful. If the globe, on which 
we live, would experience a great change of position, by being 
"turned upside down ;" — 0, surely, in such a transposition of the 
affections, as is occasioned by the converting power of the Gospel, 
the world of feeling, in man, must be "turned upside down!" 
thou great revolutionizer of human souls ! — thou all-transforming 
spirit ! put forth thy renewing power, with the w T ords now spoken, 



252 THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 

that in the moral feelings of this people, the essential change may 
be wrought ! 

3. The world of practice, in man, is "turned upside down," 
when the Gospel fully prevails. 

The outward man experiences a pleasing, and distinct transfor- 
mation, when Christianity secures a practical submission to its 
sacred behests. The pursuits, the demeanor, and the habits of 
life, undergo a total transmutation. The individuals who are 
brought under the hallowed dominion, and sanctifying control of 
the glorious Gospel, are said " to put away their former conversa- 
tion ;" and hence it follows,— -" they live in newness of life." 
Their " walk and conversation" are as completely inverted, as a 
world "turned upside down." Their words, — their ways, — their 
behavior, — the tenor of their conduct, are essentially altered. In 
their daily practice, there is a revolution, in which sin gives place 
to righteousness, — piety supplants ungodliness, — works of benevo- 
lence succeed "dead works," and "deeds of darkness." Then, 
instead of "evil speaking," oaths, curses, blasphemies, and false- 
hoods, — " the conversation is according to godliness," and is 
" adorned with the meekness of wisdom." Then, instead of those 
" evil communications, which corrupt good manners," — is that 
spiritual communion with Deity, which constitutes true devotion, 
and which makes the face to glow with the lustre and purity of 
exalted piety. Then, instead of empty mirth, and foolish jesting, 
and low frivolity, — is "the voice of spiritual joy, and pious re- 
joicing," — " speaking in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs;" 
" making melody in the heart." Then, instead of fraudulent arti- 
fices of craft and cunning, by which covetousness "goes be} 7 ond" 
and defrauds another, — justice, truth, candor, and uprightness, 
mark the man. In fine, — then instead of a slave of lust, — a sub- 
ject of Satan, — a sycophant of this vain world, involved in its 
" corruptions," and "entangled in its beggarly elements ;" — there 
is " a Saint of the Most High,"—" a son of God,"—" a servant 
of righteousness," " abounding in every good word and every good 
work," — " a new creature," whose desire and determination are, 
"to glorify God, and to do good unto all men," in his day and 
generation. 



TftE MORAL, REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 253 

Nor does the surprising change end here. By the persons, thus 
transformed by grace divine, every thing in the world is regarded 
as differently, as if the world itself had really undergone a revolu- 
tion, and actually had been " turned upside down." Wealth, 
honor, and sensual pleasure, are the objects, which engross uncon- 
verted minds. This is the trinity of the worlds' idolatry. All, in 
some measure, pursue each of these objects. True, there may be 
a predominating predilection for some of these objects of worldly 
desire, in preference to the rest ; but notwithstanding this special 
preference, — none are without some desire to possess them all : so 
that wealth, honor, and sensual enjoyment, may justly be taken to 
be the combined aim of the pursuits of unconverted men. These 
are "the creatures, that are worshipped and served in the stead of 
the Creator," — the usurping triumvirate, "that rule in the hearts 
of them who believe not !" But only ]tt them feel the power of the 
Gospel ; and then the magnetism of their minds will point to a 
different pole ! Only let them receive the w r ord " with demonstra- 
tion of the truth, and with power ;" and then wealth will be strip- 
ped of its enchantments, — and honor will pass, before their purified 
vision, as very emptiness, — and earth's best and brightest pleasures 
will seem the airy nothings of a day-dream. Then the objects of 
their pursuit will be of another character. They will then " count 
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ 
Jesus the Lord." They will then " seek a better country, that is 
a heavenly." They will then seek "to lay up for themselves 
treasures in heaven." They will then " seek the honor, that com- 
eth from above." They will then seek, — and seeking, they will 
find, all their delight, in loving and serving God, and in praying 
for and promoting the present, and the eternal welfare of their 
fellow-beings. Thence-forward, theirs will be a life, devoted to 
deeds of benevolence towards man, and to acts of piety towards 
God ! — This, this is the revolution, in practice, which the Gospel 
accomplishes ! Is not this " turning the world upside down ?" 
If all the inhabitants of the earth were thus changed, — would not 
the world of mankind, in fact, and literally, be " turned upside 
down ?" 

Yes ! yes ! ye enemies of the cross, this, this is the revolution 



254 THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 

of the world, which the Gospel aims, and is calculated to produce! 
Not the subversion of all that is dear in domestic life ! Not the 
disruption of civil society ! Not the overthrow of human govern- 
ments! No! — No! — but a revolution of sentiment, that will 
"bring every thought into obedience to the law of Christ;" — a 
transfer of the affections, that will make mankind " but a little 
lower than the angels ;" — an alteration of conduct, which pre- 
cludes all evil, and is productive of all excellency, — originating, 
and promoting " whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report, 
whatever is holy, and whatever is praise- worthy !" glorious 
revolution! Delightful inversion of the moral world! We chal- 
lenge Deism, or its kindred systems to do a work so great, — so 
good ! Let Deists, if they can, furnish a moral lever, that will 
thus "turn the world upside down!" Let all the many, and 
mongrel clans of scepticism, — from the rude blasphemers to the 
sly sophisters, — find, among their moral means, a power equal to 
the mighty task of turning round the universe of man ! Where 
can philosophy, with all her lofty looks, point us; — where can Deism, 
with all its arrogant boasting, direct us, — to similar transformations 
of character; to revolutions of principle and of practice so sublime, 
and so complete ! Deism ! that arrogates to itself the Age of Rea- 
son. Infidelity! that was to rescue man from the degradations 
and impositions of priestcraft. Philosophy! the self-styled high 
priest of nature. Where are your triumphs, ye pretended conser- 
vators of the w T orld ? Where your conversions of men ? Where 
the "new creatures," you have created, — the moral creations 
among mankind, you have accomplished ? In vain, we inquire for 
the reformed profligates, you have saved ; for the returning prodi- 
gals, you have reclaimed ; for the erring wanderers, you have 
brought back to duty, to virtue, and to God ; for the unhappy 
sufferers, you have lifted up to light, to hope, and to happiness! 
In vain we look around to discover, the homes you have blessed, — 
the neighborhoods you have reformed, — the communities you have 
purified and improved, — the nations you have exalted and crowned 
with glory ! Where are the temples, which Deism has built for God ? 
Where are the services, which Infidelity has done for the world ? 
Where are the individuals, whom philosophy has made happier and 






THE MORAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 255 

better ? — Triumphs !— Revolutions ! — Conversions ! — yes ! De- 
ism has had its triumphs ; but they were triumphs of mischief ! — 
Deism too has had its revolutions ; but they were all revolutions of 
blood, of massacre, and ol terror ! — Aye ! — and Deism does some- 
times convert men ; but it is a conversion, which makes the con- 
vert " tenfold more of a child of the Devil," than he was before his 
change ! — When Deism prevails, what but unmitigated and un- 
mingled evil is the result ? It demonizes the heart : — it dethrones 
humanity: — it denaturalizes the soul : — it stupifles the intellect : — 
it brutifies the man : — it curses every connexion, — clouds every 
prospect, — confounds every motive, — cuts off every hope, — and 
conducts downwards to the lowest depths of moral degradation ! 
Away then, thou vain boaster! Away, thou false child of the 
devil ! Infidelity, away ; and hide thy dishonored head before the 
all -conquering cross ! The glorious Gospel of God our Savior has 
triumphed, — does triumph, — and will continue to triumph, until 
the whole world of mankind shall be brought to realize its recu- 
perative energies, and shall be resuscitated into a new, purer, 
nobler, and more felicitous state of existence ! Error shall break 
away, like the dissolving mists of the morning, before the efful- 
gence -of its spreading light, until " all shall know the Lord, from 
the least to the greatest :" — its renewing grace shall go on "from 
conquering to conquer," until ."every knee shall bow," and every 
heart shall yield, to the sceptre of sovereign love : — its hallowed 
influences shall operate broader, and deeper, and more effectively, 
and more extensively, until the last vestige of Satans' rule, or of 
sins' defilement, or of mans' degeneracy, shall be annihilated ; 
and this earth shall be as " a new earth, wherein dwelleth" uni- 
versal "righteousness." Then the world will be " turned upside 
down." 



SERMON IX. 



THE RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT, PRODUCED BY THE SUCCESSFUL PREACH- 
ING OF THE GOSPEL, DEFENDED. 

"And the same time there arose no small stir about that way." — Acts 19 
Chap. 23 Verse. 

" That way," here spoken of, is the way of Gospel-godliness. 
And perhaps never since the days when the inspired Apostles pro- 
claimed the tidings of salvation with such surprising success, was 
there ever so much "stir," or so great a "stir about that w T ay," 
as in the present age. In this our day, " the way of salvation," 
revealed in the records of the Gospel, is made known through 
all the earth, — "their words have gone out unto the ends of the 
world:" and every where it is producing a deep and delightful 
commotion. Indeed, moral excitement, — religious "stir," is the 
very element, in which the Gospel has always, achieved all its 
great triumphs! Whenever and wherever "the Gospel has 
been preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven ;" — 
whenever and wherever, — under the efficacious preaching of "the 
truth as it is in Jesus,"— -sinners have been convinced of sin, led 
to repentance, and converted to God ; — there always has been and 
there still continue to be, "no small stir about that way." It be- 
gan thus, and so it has continued, through all succeeding times 
down to the present hour. 

At the period to which the text refers, Christianity was only in 
its infancy, weak in the feebleness of immaturity: but even then, 
though only in the beginning of its strength ;" — even then, — 
though beset with enemies and obstacles on every hand ; — even 
then, — though opposed, misrepresented censured, and persecu- 
ted from every quarter, ; — yet notwithstanding the inauspicious- 
ness of these circumstances, — even then, great in the might of its 
Most High Founder, — It went forth "from conquering to conquer, 



RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENEED. 257 

causing in every community to which it came, an extraordinary 
and universal movement. When it entered any country, the com- 
mon cry was, "these that have turned the world upside down 
have come hither also !" As soon as it reached a city, the peevish- 
ness of worldliness vociferated, "these men being Jews, do ex- 
ceedingly trouble our city, stirring up the people ! The first 
country, visited by the Gospel, was Jewry, or the land of Judea; 
and did not the enraged Rulers of that land declare, "He stirreth 
up the people?" The first city, in which the Gospel was announ- 
ced, was Jerusalem ; and does not history record, that the effect 
was,— "the whole city w T as moved?" It made no difference, to 
whom the Gospel came,— what was their nation, their character, 
or circumstances,— whether Jew or Gentile,— whether savage or 
civilized,— whether learned or illiterate, ---whether rude or refin- 
ed,— whether bond or free ; — still in every instance the same ef- 
fects followed, when the word was preached with power. If it 
alights down on the wild and desolate shores of the sea of Gen- 
nesereth, and proclaims its joyous tidings among the half-naked, 
half-savage fishermen of Gallilee; — lo! such a "stir" is made 
among these barbarous boatmen, that, careless about the gains of 
their trade, and the spoils of the sea, — flinging down their oars, — 
rushing away from their fishing vessels, — casting from them their 
nets and cords, their hooks and lines, — they instantly leave all to 
follow Jesus of Nazereth; "counting all things loss, for the excel- 
lency of the knowledge of Christ their Lord." If it lands upon 
the classic peninsula of Greece, where science has its home, and 
enters the renowned seats of learning to set forth Christ crucified 
before the disciples of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, in the aca- 
demic groves, or beneath the sculptured porticoes, dedicated to 
knowledge and refinement; — behold! in a short time, the sage phi- 
losophers of Corinth and of Athens are in such a "stir," as scarce- 
ly to contain themselves, and shout at the top of their voice, "if 
we beside ourselves, it is to God ; — because the love of Christ con- 
straineth us." Did the Gospel, in the person of its Divine Author 
step into the cottage of Zaccheus? He and his, at once, "recei- 
ved the word with gladness ;" and " there was great joy in that 
house." — Is the Gospel shut up in the prison of Phillipi, by the 

33 



258 RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 

incarceration of its Ministers? The brutal jailer soon gets into 
a mighty "stir about that way ;" and trembling with the agitations 
of his fears, he springs into the cell where Paul and Silas lay bound 
and where he drops at the feet of his fettered prisoners, screaming 
in an agony of distress, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved ?" — 
Does the Gospel reach as far as Rome, and intrude into the very 
palace of Caesar?' Wonderful to be told! — what a "stir" is pro- 
duced even in the imperial city! — nay, within the imperial pavil- 
ion itself! A favorite concubine of the Emperor is converted, — for- 
sakes his foul embrace, — refuses to yield again to his base pleas- 
ure ; and mad with rage at the loss of his Favorite, Nero, the Em- 
peror, stirs up all the powers and satellites of the imperial govern- 
ment to persecute and to destroy the advocates of "that way:" — 
but persecution only extends its influence wider, and brings it 
nearer ; for while all Rome is in a ferment with the spirit of ex- 
termination, — at the very same time, a Christian Church is raised 
up in "Caesars' household!" 

Nor were these " stirring effects confined alone to Apostolic 
preaching; neither did they cease with Apostolic times. The 
same results have followed the effectual preaching of the Gospel, 
from the time of the Apostles all along, down to the present day. 
O what a "stir about that way" was excited throughout all Eu- 
rope, when Luther, and Melancthon, and Zwingle preached the doc- 
trines of the reformation! What a " stir" was produced by the 
preaching of Knox, in Scotland, and Wickliff, in England ! What 
a "stir" arose in various parts of Great Britain, and in Ireland, 
from the faithful fervent ministry of the Wesleys, who taught their 
countrymen " that way" more perfectly ! (And coming nearer to 
our own times) What a "stir" was raised in the Eastern States, 
not a century ago, when the great revivals of religion first made 
their appearance upon the Americam Continent, in which, instead 
of two or three persons being doubtfully converted in one whole 
year, as was wont previously, — scores of souls, and even fifties, — 
yea, as many as hundreds were powerfully convicted and triumph- 
antly converted at once! Nay, — who does not know, — what a 
" stir," but a few years since, agitated the Isles of the pacific Ocean, 
when a whole nation, in one single day, renounced the heathenism 



RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 259 

of their ancestors, cast their obscene idols into the fire, and pub- 
licly embraced Christianity ! In the present day, this " stir about 
that way" has in no degree subsided ; on the contrary, it is now 
more common, and more extended, than ever before known. 
Revivals of religion are, at this time, taking place with great fre- 
quency, in almost every part of the world ;— in the East, and in 
the West,— in the North, and in the South,— at home and abroad 
"in the crowded City full,"— in the sequestered village,— amid 
the rural scenes of the remote country,— within the splended tem- 
ples which crowded communities rear for God,— and beneath the 
shaded groves, which are consecrated for special services of reli- 
gion ; and wherever such revivals occur, still, as in the beginning 
"there is no small stir about that way !"-- -And now, dear hearers, 
this great motive-power that moves the moral world,— "the Gos- 
pel, which is the power of God unto salvation," has " come hith- 
er also :"— say,— what shall be the result ? — Shall its entrance in 
among you be in vain ? — Will not Christians at least be roused up 
to cry mightily unto God ? Will not they with all their soul, offer 
up the invocation, " Awake, awake, O arm of the Lord, as in the 
ancient days, and in the times of old ;" that now in this sacred 
house,— at this solemn hour,— during this special service, " there 
may arise no small stir about that way?" 

But hark! what ominous sound breaks in upon our triumphal 
exultations ? It is a muffled, muttering, murmuring voice, that 
peevishly exclaims, " Enthusiasm !"— It is all enthusiasm!— 
Nothing but enthusiasm !— Rank enthusiasm !— Enthusiasm !--- 
empty and unsubstantial, as the sounding brass and tinkling cym- 
bal!!" 

"Enthusiasm"— is it?— W T ell, be it so ! It is the very enthu- 
siasm, which prophets foretold should be produced in our day by 
the preaching of the Gospel. Did not Isaiah mean this very thing 
when he set down these words,—" Who are these that fly as a 
cloud, and as doves to their windows ?— O Zion, that bringest 
good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain ; Jerusalem, 
that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength ; lift it 
up, be not afraid ; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! 
For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace : the 



260 RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 

mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, 
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands !"— Could 
David intend any thing else, when speaking of Gospel times, he 
exclaims, " clap vour hands, all ye people; shout unto God 
with the voice of triumph.— Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye 
lands. Shout with the voice of triumph.— Let the sea roar, and 
the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. — Let 
the floods clap their hands ; let the hills be joyful together before 
the Lord!" 

" Enthusiasm — do you say?— -Yes! — but it is the very enthusi- 
asm, that was manifested, and obtained divine approval, under the 
ministry of John the Baptist : "for from the days of John the Bap- 
tist, until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the 
violent take it by force." " He was a burning and shining light: 
and ye w r ere willing for a season to leap for joy in his light." 

"Enthusiasm" indeed! — True! — Just such an enthusiasm as 
was exhibited on that memorable day in the annals of the Church; 
the day of Pentecost ; that gracious season, intended to be the 
model, or the pattern of all succeeding revivals of religion : for 
while the multitude of spectators were agitated with conflicting 
thoughts, and asked, " What meaneth this ?" those, w r ho w T ere 
" pricked in their hearts" by the power of the Gospel, — stirred up 
to a paroxysm of anguish, — cried out, " Men and Brethren, what 
shall we do ?" 

" Enthusiasm" — do you call it ? — Aye ! — truly the same enthu- 
siasm as angels, and redeemed spirits indulge, in the immediate 
presence of God, when they learn the success of the Gospel among 
men : — " I heard," says John, " a great voice of much people in 
heaven, saying, Alleluia: salvation and glory, and honor, and 
power, unto the Lord our God. — And I heard as it were the voice 
of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the 
voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia : for the Lord God 
omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor 
to him !" 

"Enthusiasm" — indeed! — If this be enthusiasm, it is a wise 
and happy phrensy, backed by many and worthy precedents, — 
productive of much and high bliss and blessings! If this be enthu- 



RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 261 

siasm, — for more of this enthusiasm ! Would to God, the whole 
world were filled with such enthusiasm ! God grant, that we may- 
have abundance of this enthusiasm, in this place, on this occasion! 

What then ? — Do we mean to sit down under this charge ? Do 
we intend to admit, that "the stir about that way" is really enthu- 
siasm ; — that this is a stir without an adequate cause, — an excite- 
ment without a proper foundation, — a commotion of feeling, that 
goes beyond the occasion, and that exceeds the limits of propriety? 
No, — by no means. We deny the charge of enthusiasm in toto ; 
and we mean to show, that there are just and reasonable grounds 
for the " stir about the way" of salvation ; and that if the excite- 
ment be great, it is not greater than the occasion demands. For 
this purpose, we shall endeavor to make it evident, that, when the 
Gospel is preached with success, "there arises no small stirabout 
that way" — among, 

Converts to "that way," 

Enemies to " that way," 

Friends to " that way," — and 

The inhabitants of other worlds when they become acquainted 
with the success of "that way." 

When the preaching of the Gospel is successful, " there arises 
no small stir about that way" among, 

I. The converts to " that way." 

When the Gospel secures its appropriate effects, the individuals, 
who are immediately acted upon, and savingly benefitted, by its 
operations, are the first to feel this moral excitement. These, — to 
whom the Gospel becomes " the power of God unto salvation, — to 
whom " the word comes, not in word only, but in power, and with 
the demonstration of the spirit," — are put in "no small stir about 
that way." And no wonder; — their sense of danger, — their pros- 
pects of safety, — and — the impulses of their new-born affections, — 
each separately, and all combined, make them in " no small stir 
about that way." 

1. Their sense of danger puts them in " no small stir." 

" The entrance of the word giveth light ;" — and when the light 
of truth has so broke in upon the mind, "with kind and quicken- 
ing rays," — it reveals to the sinner his awful situation through sin. 



262 RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 

He is then brought to see, — and not only to see, but to feel,— and 
not only to feel, but to realize in his inmost soul, by a demonstra- 
tion to his moral consciousness which he can neither evade nor 
disregard, — that he is verily guilty before God; and that the trans- 
gressions, which make up the sum of his guilt, are, in number, 
" as the hairs of his head," and, in magnitude, immense as the 
claims of duty, that he has trampled upon in their commission. 
The sense of danger, imminent and extreme, which such a discov- 
ery of his guilt, brings upon the soul of the awakened sinner, can- 
not be less, or otherwise, than absolutely overwhelming. While 
his sins-reach up to heaven, in their number and enormity, crying 
for instant vengeance ; they threaten to kindle a fire in Gods' 
anger, that will "burn to the lowest hell :" and thus they seem to 
shut him up to the desperate alternative of " a fearful looking for 
of the judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the ad- 
versaries." Now when this is the case, is it any wonder, that this 
sin-alarmed convict should be in "no small stir about that way?" 
When he becomes possessed with the dread reality of his eternal 
danger; — when he finds, that his sins have placed him on the very 
confines of the everlasting burnings, so that but a single remove 
will consign him to those hopeless regions, whence there is no 
redemption ; — when he discovers, that his guilt has pointed at him 
the two-edged flaming sword of offended justice, which is pursuing 
hard after him through every lane of life, — following close behind 
him, nearer and still nearer at each succeeding step, — turning 
with all the windings of his course, — entering where he enters, — 
and ready to reach and to smite him down, this or the next mo- 
ment ; — when he sees nothing before him, in the fearful future, but 
"the blackness of darkness forever," through whose palpable 
gloom, no ray of hope will ever reach him, and over whose brood- 
ing night no light will ever break, save the lurid glare of that 
"horrible tempest of fire and snares," which "God will rain 
down upon" the incorrigible endlessly; — when he beholds a yawn- 
ing abyss of ceaseless woe opening, as it were, at his very feet, — 
while the dread array of his damning sins, staring him in the face, 
stand ready to push him down at once : — when God thus comes 
to the guilty heart, in the fulness of his spirits' power, and makes 



RELIGIOUS EXCITEMFNT DEFENDED, 263 

the sinner conscious of his unimagined danger ; it is vastly less 
surprising that he .should be in "no small stir," than it would be, 
were he to remain callous and unconcerned ! The very devils, 
as they feel the weight of Gods' indignation upon their guilty 
spirits, "believe and tremble;" and surely it would betoken a 
state of mind, worse than diabolical and more insensate too, if the 
sinner, in an almost parallel situation of criminality, — with the 
fearful fact of his soul-destroying guilt full in view, — were 'unmo- 
ved, and unaffected ! my God ! if there ever were an occasion 
for no " small stir," truly it must be, when the sinner sees him- 
self suspended over the burning gulf of utter perdition ; while the 
brittle band, that bears him up, is fretted and w T orn away to its 
last, slender strand, which, once broken, — down he drops ; — and 
sinks, — sinks, — sinks, — to rise no more forever ! My unconverted 
hearers, — depend upon it, if you feel no " stir about that way," it 
is because you are unaware of the real danger of your state. Did 
you realize your spiritual danger, as the Gospel reveals it, certainly 
it would rouse you to an agony of feeling, and urge you to cry 
mightily to the God of salvation ! Ah ! should the tremendous 
truth be impressed upon you, as an actual reality, that there is but 
" a step between you and endless death ;" it is certain, you would 
think, no effort too great to be made, — no "stir" too excessive for 
the occasion, — if so, you might escape ! Let me assure you how- 
ever, that your danger is none the less real, because you are igno- 
rant, or insensible of its existence. Although you may not know 
it ? — although you may not consider this, — although it may give 
you no concern ; it is as true in your case, as in that of those who 
are agonizing under a sense of their guilt, that without repentance 
toward God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, as you know your- 
selves to be, the damning curse of God is upon you! At home, or 
abroad, — in the house, or in the field, — in company, or alone, — 
amid the activities of life, or asleep on your beds, — all the day, 
and all the night, — upon you that awful curse abides, not to be 
shunned, — not to be shaken off, except by penitency and conver- 
sion ; — yes ! actually upon you always abides that deadly curse, 
which, any moment, — from any situation, may cast you into "outer 



264 RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 

darkness." why then stand in jeopardy every hour ! Flee ! — 
instantly flee, — earnestly " flee, from the wrath to come!" 
As to the true converts of the Gospel, obserye, 
2. Their prospects of safety put them in " no small stir." 
The Gospel wounds only to heal;— it kills but to make alive ;— 
it shows the sinner his dreadful situation through sin, only that he 
may appreciate, as he ought, " the refuge set before him," in the 
grace and mercy of God. Soon as the Gospel has waked him up 
to a true and lively sense of that dark damnation, which broods 
over him,— it gently and lovingly leads him forth to the foot of the 
cross, "where hangs all human hope," and where he hears a 
voice, more than human, exclaim, "Behold the Lamb of God, 
that taketh away the sins of the world !" "Christ Jesus is now 
evidently set forth crucified before him ;" and then he learns, — by 
a divine teaching, which feels as sure to him as it" is welcome, — 
that under the shadow of that cross, no bolt can strike, no curse 
can fall, no avenger can pursue, no death can enter, no soul can 
perish ! That the arms, outstretched upon that accursed tree, 
arrested and rolled back the fiery torrents of damnation, that were 
rushing down to sweep him away to everlasting destruction! 
That the crimson current, that ran streaming down from the 
pierced heart of the great Lover of lost mankind, " blotted out" the 
black lines of condemnation "in the handwriting of the law, which 
was against us, and contrary to us ; taking out of the way" the 
blood-blurred judgment deed, "and nailing it to his cross!" In 
a word, — that a simple reliance on the efficacy of the blood and 
righteousness of the crucified one, will shelter him from every con- 
sequence of his guilt, and will bring to him. the bliss and blessings 
of the favor and friendship of God ! Now when the poor con- 
science-stricken soul is thus brought out of darkness into this 
" marvellous light,— is it not reasonable to expect, that he will be 
in "no small stir about that way?" Ah! if there be music in 
heaven, methinks, sweeter melody must be in the soul, when the 
soothing, cheering accents are spoken to the inner man, — " Son, 
be of good cheer; thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee. 
Deliver from going down to the pit ; I have found a ransom. And 
him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." Such a 



RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 265 

discovery of so safe and so happy a retreat from all his guilty fears, 
and his gloomy apprehensions,— certainly cannot fail to produce, 
in the sinners' bosom, an excitement of feeling, deep and delight- 
ful, which, in no view, will admit of excess. In the same propor- 
tion as his views of his guilt and danger were vivid and over- 
whelming in the extreme ; so must this sudden transition to a state 
of peace, and hope, and safety, call up the opposite emotions of 
rapture and rejoicing, without bounds, and without measure. To 
feel that the burden of his guilt, which had pressed him down, as 
with a mountains' weight, has been cast behind his back, " as a 
stone into the depths of the sea ;"— to see himself snatched from 
the very jaws of that all-devouring w T orm, " which dieth not,"— 
just when its killing fang was about to enter the soul, and its fatal 
coil was ready to crush him ;— to feel, as if the golden chain of 
mercy were let down from the throne of the supreme, and wrapped 
around his hell-doomed spirit, lifting him to life, and hope, and 
happiness, just when he was descending, with a dreadful rush, 
into " the bottomless pit ;"— O to have the dark midnight of his 
soul at once turned into delightful day ;-— to have the gloom of his 
deep despair at once exchanged for the joyous light of hope ; — to 
have the tremblings of his guilty fears at once replaced with the 
assured confidence of security :— nay !— to have the prospect of 
" the damnation of hell" removed, and in its stead, the anticipa- 
tion of a heaven on earth, and of more than paradisaic glories and 
felicities in heaven itself :— surely, surely, when such a contrast 
comes upon the soul, there is enough (reason alone being judge) to 
excite " no small stir about that way !" It is, as if another and 
more gorgeous sun had broke out in the sky ! It is, as if the 
beauty, and brilliancy, and animation of a burning summer, had 
suddenly arisen amid the sterility, and snows, and the chilling 
scenery of mid-winter!— "Come," sinful men, " and see, that the 
Lord is good ; for blessed are they that trust in him." We do 
indeed " joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we 
have received the atonement." " Come ye also, and be partakers 
in our joys." Cast yourselves at the foot of the cross, in penitency, 
and with prayer, and then you, with us, will find " a peace and 

34 



266 RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 

a joy in believing," which will make you too in " no small stir 
about that way." 

As to true converts,— you will remark, 

3. The impulses of their new-born affection puts them in " no 
small stir." 

The Gospel secures not its full and legitimate design, unless 
those, to whom its truths are presented, are "born again." They 
then become " new creatures in Christ Jesus." " They are born 
of the incorruptible seed of the word, that liveth and abideth for- 
ever." The new spiritual nature, which they thus receive through 
efficacious agency of divine truth, is remarkable for one thing: — 
its cardinal virtue, — its ruling principle, — its master passion, — its 
great governing affection, is love ; — love to God, supremely, and, 
because of love to him, — love to all his creatures, generally. Now 
of all the principles, which operate upon mind, love is the most 
active, and the most energetic; and when this affection of the soul, 
has the God of love for its moving cause, as well as its exciting 
object, it excels every other impulse that has the name of love, as 
much as that which is spiritual is superior to what is carnal. If 
love of money will inspire men with intense eagerness and tireless 
ardor, — as we know, it does : — if love of country will rouse men 
to such ardent enthusiasm, and glowing zeal, — as it has often 
done : —if parental love will invoke buch tender yearnings, and 
such bursts of passion, — as we see, it does : — 0, what will not the 
love do, which has God for its object, and God for its inspiration! 
When the new-born soul of the true convert begins to kindle up 
under the first impulses of this animating and energetic affection, 
unquestionably, he is only true to nature, when he is in "no small 
stir about that way." Nothing less, or different could be looked 
for, than an unwonted excitement of all the moral powers, from an 
inspiration so fervent as "love divine!" Can the saved soul 
think too highly, or feel too gratefully to that God, who has had 
mercy on him ; — to that Savior, who poured out his lifes' blood for 
him ; — to that thrice-blessed spirit, who imparted the assurance of 
pardon, and the enjoyment of peace to him? Can his escape from 
"the horrible pit,"— his deliverance from " the miry clay," ever 
extort from him a measure of gratitude, or excite in him a degree 



RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 267 

of delight, beyond its real importance? Can the blessings of sal- 
vation, of which he is now the happy possessor, by any possibility, 
be valued by him above their worth? — or awaken in him a thank- 
fulness to the author and bestower of these blessings, larger and 
more enduring than they deserve? O, when "the riches of divine 
goodness," as realized in his own personal deliverance from eter- 
nal death, and in his conscious restoration to the favor, and enjoy- 
ment of God, rise full upon the view of his soul, — now in all the 
freshness of its spiritual youth ; we have a right to expect, (and 
reason justifies the expectation) that the enrapturing view must 
awaken, in the new-born affections, these impassioned impulses, 
that will urge to exercises and efforts, which, in any other case, 
might be excessive, but which, in this, reach not, even in their 
highest degree, to the full measure of the occasion! 

Here then we rest the case. If such be the sense of guilt pro- 
duced, — if such the prospects of safety realized, — if such the im- 
pulses of new-born affection awakened, — when the Gospel takes 
effect in the conviction and conversion of sinners; we firmly main- 
tain — not only, that true converts may, but that they ought to be — 
not merely, that it is excusable that they are, but that it is proper 
and reasonable that they should be, in " no small stir about that 
way." 

This " stir" however reaches beyond the benefitted party, and 
enters the hostile ranks, that stand aloof in the attitude of opposi- 
tion. For when the Gospel is preached with success, "there 
arises no small stir about that w T ay" among, 

II. The different enemies to "that way." 

Of course, none are enemies to "the way" of the Gospel, but 
acknowledged wicked persons ; nor are all the wicked affected 
alike by the success of the preaching of the Gospel. The different 
parties, which combine to form this whole class of character, are 
stirred up in (liferent modes, according to the different ways, in 
which the Gospel interferes with their wickedness. In some, the 
selfishness of avarice, — in others, the malignity of depravity, — and 
in a third party, the chagrin of formality, — puts them in " no small 
stir about that way." 



$63 RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 

1. The selfishness of avarice puts some in " no small stir about 
that way." 

In every country, and in almost every section of every country, a 
class of characters are to be met with, who live upon the follies and 
vices of their fellow-men. They gain a livelihood and seek the 
accumulation of wealth, by pandering to the worst passions and 
appetites of human nature. Like the insatiable harpies, which 
heathen poets have portrayed, — -these wretched characters prey, 
and feast, and fatten upon the misery and misfortunes of mankind. 
The arts and articles, by which they procure a maintenance, and 
aggrandise their possessions, are such as impoverish, and often 
ruin their very neighbors. Men of this class get in "no small stir 
about that way," wherever the Gospel is successful in their vicin- 
age. Their selfishness,™ seized with alarm for their ungodly 
gains, because of the inroads that true godliness makes upon the 
vices and follies of mankind, — stirs them up to opposition in a sort 
of self-defence. Nor need we wonder. — As the Gospel, when 
effectual, turns men from " the error and evil of their ways," lead- 
ing them to forsake their former follies and vices; — it is self- 
evident, that every individual, who is truly converted, is one sub- 
stracted from the number of the supporters of these men, that profit 
by the foolish and vicious practices of their fellow beings. Every 
one, brought over to the ways of godliness, is just so much to be 
deducted from the ungodly gains of these modern harpies, as the 
true convert, before his conversion, had been wont to waste in the 
indulgence of his vain and sinful practices. Each person led "to 
believe with the heart unto righteousness," thus takes an amount 
from the emoluments of these sordid beings, to the extent, that the 
individual reclaimed, was previously accustomed to devote to the 
ways of sin and vanity. This touches in a tender place these 
selfish creatures of avarice! They presently cry out: — "their 
craft is in danger!" Their covetousness is alarmed: — their 
"filty lucre" is at stake! Their whole living will be wrested 
from them by piece-meal, if some counter effort is not made, to 
prevent the loss of their customers at this rate! Hence the selfish- 
ness of their avarice urges them to a great " stir about that way," 
which, in proportion as it progresses, produces a certain dimuni- 



RELIGIOUS! EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 269 

tion of their pecuniary means. For the purpose of arresting the 
further progress of the work of conversions, they promptly resort to 
various artifices, which they industriously carry on, with a deter- 
mination worthy of a better object. The ministers, and the preach- 
ing of the Gospel are decidedly opposed, in every possible way ; 
and where other means of annoyance are not at hand, — misrepre- 
sentations, jests, sarcasms, and inuendoes, are banded about, with 
"no small stir about that way." 

So it was at Ephesus, on the occasion to which the Text refers. 
The preached Gospel had been successful in converting a number 
of the Ephesian citizens: and as a necessary consequence of their 
conversion, the new converts at once forsook the idol-temples, and 
the practices of idolatry. Perceiving, that by the abstraction of 
these from the number of their deluded customers, their business 
was falling off; and that if this process of abduction from the ranks 
of idolatry were to continue and to increase, " their craft was in 
danger" and would ultimately come to naught; — "the shrine- 
makers" of Ephesus, whose occupation, and pecuniary interests 
depended thus upon the preservation of idolatry, conspired together 
to raise a tumult in the city ; " and there arose no small stir about 
that way." 

The same selfishness of avarice operates in a similar manner, in 
the present day. It is true, we have no shrine-makers among us ; 
but we have dram-sellers, and various other kinds of purveyors to 
human folly, and to human depravity: and like their prototypes in 
selfishness, they will always be found to be in "no small stir about 
that way," when "the wicked forsake their wickedness, and turn 
unto the Lord." Oh! could my voice reach these unhappy men, 
I would invoke them, by all that is great, — generous, — or good, to 
relinquish at once a calling, that places them antagonist with the 
holy, blessed, glorious Gospel ! 0, quit, instantly quit an occupa- 
tion, that renders the reformation of your neighbors a detriment to 
your pecuniary interests, and a damage to your personal affairs ! 
Abandon in the generous spirit of true philanthropy, these invidious 
pursuits of yours, that set you in hostility against the salvation of 
souls! 



270 RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 

2. The malignity of depravity puts some in " no small stir about 
that way." 

There is a real malice in the depravity of the downright wicked, 
that shows itself, on all occasions, in an enmity not only to God, 
but also to whatsoever is of God, or at all assimilates to his like- 
ness. Characters of this description " hate the light, and whoso- 
ever cometh to the light; — because their deeds are evil." — "Ye 
know," says Jesus, "If the world hate you, it hated me before it 
hated you." — " But as then, he that was born after the flesh per- 
secuted him that was born after the spirit, even so it is now," — 
says Paul. This antipathy of the depraved to all that is from God, 
or that is like God, is particularly conspicuous whenever sinners 
are " born from above," and become " partakers of the divine 
nature," through the renewing of the Holy Ghost. During such 
seasons " of the operation of the spirit," usually, almost every 
method, or measure, by which the malignity of the heart can man- 
ifest itself, is, in turn, put in requisition by the wicked, — to assail, 
to demean, and if possible, to destroy the good work of God. Rid- 
cule, caricature, detraction, mockery, and blasphemy, are succes- 
sively employed, with restless assiduity, — to intimidate, to afflict, 
and to bring reproach upon the new-born children of God. Des- 
titute of other, and more violent weapons of persecution, which, 
happily for us, our excellent civil polity has wrested from the grasp 
of the wicked ; their malice exerts itself in sinister methods - of 
injury, and vents its venom, by fabricating gross slanders, or by 
suggesting base insinuations: and if "the way of truth" is not 
brought into general disrepute, it will not be, because these ene- 
mies of all good are not in a great "stir." vain effort! Useless 
toil ! The Gospel will still go on with its triumphs, after you have 
done your utmost to stop its progress! Impotent mortals! Can 
you turn back the setting sun, through its naming course, to the 
place of his rising ? Can you stop the globe, upon which you live, 
as it revolves in its wonted rapidity round the poles ? Can you 
scoop up the w r hole waters of the vast ocean in the hollow of your 
hand ; or toss its turbulent billows to the lofty clouds ? Can you 
ascend to the centre of the universe, and bid its boundless, num- 
berless, blazing worlds stand still ? Sooner might you do all this, 






RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 271 

than you could arrest the Gospel in its march of mercy through 
the world! The Gospel will go on making men holy and happy, 
until all the human family shall know the Lord, "from the least 
unto the greatest," — in spite of all the scorn, reproach, and cal- 
umny, of those, who exile themselves from the pale of its benevo- 
lence ! O cease then wicked man from thy fruitless opposition ! 
Bow before " the beauty of holiness" in the Gospel, and " behold- 
ing as in a glass the glory of the Lord, be changed into the same 
image, from glory unto glory, even by the Spirit of the Lord !" 

3. The chagrin of formality makes others in " no small stir 
about that way." 

As all objects when in the light, have their shadows, — so real 
religion has always had its hollow professors. Men, wearing the 
exterior of religion, but destitute of its living energy " in the in- 
ner man," — "having a name to live, but dead," — have always 
been in the visible Church, to enjoy its privileges, only that they 
may belie its character, and blast its usefulness. Unhappily for 
the cause of God, these shadowy professors, — these mere figments 
of religion, have not become extinct in our day ; but are to be 
found in almost every Church, and in almost every place. — Per- 
sons of this cast of character, who have nothing more than the 
mere form of religion, are usually put in "no small stir," when 
sinners around them, wrought upon by the power of the Gospel, 
are influenced to agonize, that they may enter in "at the straight 
gate;" and to rejoice with " exceeding joy," because they have 
found "the pearl of great price." So much earnestness and ex- 
citement, — such self-evident anxiety, and heart-felt sincerity, — 
reflect upon the coldness, and deadness, and do-nothingness of 
these mere skeletons of religion. This provokes their chagrin. 
As did the conduct of Noah among the Antediluvians, so the 
consistent warmth, and corresponding energy of the true converts 
condemn, by a glaring contrast, the torpidity of these heartless 
souls; producing in them a feeling of vexation at the obvious 
but invidious discrepancy between their own cold and callous for- 
mality, and the living piety of those, who have been just quicken- 
ed from a death in sin. Now that these hollow formalists may 
obliterate, or render less obvious the disparaging contrast between 



272 RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 

themselves and the new converts, and so relieve the chagrin 
thereby occasioned to them ; — they will often be quite in a "stir." 
Cold, as they usually are, — they will now be all animation : — 
dead, as at other times they appear, — they will now be seen all 
alive : — little, as they are wont to do at other times, — they will 
now be all activity: — but for what? Ah! not for good, — no, — 
but for evil ! ! They are indeed astir now ; but it is only that they 
may bring into disrepute that good work of reformation, which 
by glaring contrast, shows up in its true colors their own wicked 
formality! 0, how busy, for a time, will these drowsy, dronish 
souls appear, at the work of detraction! The lively influences of 
the Gospel, as exhibited in the exercises of the converts will be 
variously misrepresented, — as the effects of fanaticism, — as the 
mere ebulition of animal passion, — as a theatric display, only got 
up for a piece of parade, — and, perhaps, as the legerdemain of 
priest-craft: — aye! — and argument, and opposite illustrations, and 
scripture quotations, and subtle hypotheses, and dark inferences, 
will be elaborated in no small numbers, and with "no small stir," 
all, all for the express purpose of covering up their own shocking 
deficiency, by causing "that way of truth to be evil spoken of," 
which provokes them by its pointed contrast!- -Alas ! alas! — "if 
judgment begin at the house of God, what shall the end of these 
things be?" 

If however "that way" has its enemies, — it also has its devoted 
friends: and among these too, who favor and forward " that way," 
"there arises no small stir;" although their " stir" is produced by 
a very different cause, and is of an entirely opposite character. 
When the Gospel prevails, " there arises no small stir about that 
w T ay" among 

III. The genuine friends to "that way." 

All good christians are made to be exceeding glad, by the tri- 
umphs of the Gospel. They experience a joy, such as they alone 
can know, when sinners are brought into obedience to " the truth 
as it is in Jesus." Including as it does, the rescue of souls, — the 
enlargmentofthe church — the honor of the Savior— and the increase 
of human happiness, — this delightful fact moves all the sacred pas- 



RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENCES. 273 

sions of their renewed natures into a mighty " stir" of exulting 

joy- 
Christians are in "no small stir about that way," because 
of 

1. The rescue of souls. 

The salvation of the souls of men is one of the chief sources of 
joy to the servants of God on earth. Souls are inexpressibly dear 
to all genuine christians. They are said to be " smitten with the 
love of souls ;" — and the testimony is most true. By heart -felt 
experience, they have been taught their value ; — they have learned 
their danger in their own case ; — and, with a vision purified and 
illuminated by " an unction from the Holy One, 5 ' they have been 
fitted to comprehend, in an enlarged degree, the awful extent of 
'the catastrophe, when a soul is eternall}? ruined,. Imbued in a 
measure, with the same compassionate love, as his, who died on the 
cross a martyr to his love for souls, — the sympathies of the chris- 
tians' heart second the decissions of his enlightened judgment, 
and stimulate him to yearn, with more than parental tenderness, 
over perishing souls. Hence ail genuine christians, — like the 
great apostle of the Gentiles, — "travail in birth again, until 
Christ be formed in them!" — Is it any wonder then, that christians, 
who are christians indeed, should have "no small stir" of joyful 
feelings, whenever and wherever souls, by being induced to re- 
pent of their sins, and to believe in Jesus, are rescued from eternal 
death? "When they behold souls plucked, "as brands," "from the 
everlasting burnings:" — when they view "the goodly prey" taken 
from " the mighty :" — when they see the once enslaved and per. 
secuted spirit of the poor sinner, — wrested from the grasp of the 
Infernal Tyrant, and freed from his galling fetters, — "translated 
into the kingdom of the Savior:" — when they perceive the soul, 
once all dark, aad doleful, and despairing, and miserable, cursing 
itself, and cursed of God, — now all light, and love, and hope, 
and joy in the Lord, blessed in itself, and made a blessing to oth- 
ers: — O, christians, — seeing and knowing all this, — must cease 
to be what they are ; — they must do violence to their new and 
spiritual nature ; — if they were not stirred up, in " no small de- 
35 



274 RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 

gree," to rapture and to exultation, in the contemplation of " a 
consummation so devotedly to be wished for !" 

Christians are in "no small stir about that way," because of 

2. The enlargement of the Church. 

Attachment to " the household of faith," — a deep and constant 
interest in the prosperity of " the church of the living God," — is 
one of the distinguishing affections of the christians' character, and 
is also an essential mark of its genuineness. Did not the ancient 
Saints prefer Zion to their " chief joy ?" Did not the great apos- 
tle of Christianity declare, " hereby we know, that we have pas- 
sed from death unto life, because we love the brethren ?" — This 
christian affection has a source of frequent and exciting gratifica- 
tion in the fact, that as sinners are converted, accessions are always 
and necessarily made to the membership of the church. When 
" called of God," sinners are emphatically " called out of the 
world :" and, as there is no unoccupied ground, — no neutral ter- 
ribility between the domain of "the God of this world," and the 
hallowed precincts of "the kingdom of Christ," occupied by 
the different sections of his church; — the converted, in obedience 
to their Divine calling, straightway advance " out of the world," 
and enter the church, to swell its numbers, and to augment its 
prosperity. How natural then, that real christians should be in 
" no small stir about that w T ay," when the Gospel triumphs in the 
conversion of sinners! That church, which they love so fervent- 
ly, and for whose prosperity they live, and long, and pray, — is, 
by every such triumph of the Gospel, proportionally enlarged ! 
The crowd of w T eeping suppliants at the foot of the cross, rise up, 
only to knock at the door of the church, and to solicit admission 
to its privileges and fellowship. Accessions are thus made to the 
community of the church, as fast, and as certainly, as the Gos- 
pel converts and saves sinners. Is there then not sufficient cause 
for joy, — even for abundant joy, to all true lovers of the church, 
when the Gospel succeeds? — And who, that does not defraud 
the name of religion, does not feel stirred up to emulate the very 
seraphim in his shouts of joy, and songs of praise, — when the 
wanderers from God, reclaimed by grace divine, — having first 
been led back to the shepherd and bishop of their souls," — are 



RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED, 275 

then brought into the blessed fold of "the good shepherd, that gave 
his life for the sheep?" 

Christians are in "no small stir about that way," because of 

3. The honor of the Savior. 

The Savior is to receive his recompense for all his labors and 
sufferings in our world, from the honors he shall derive from saved 
souls. "When he made his soul a sin-ofTering," — the prophet Isaiah 
instructs us, — it was with the understanding, that he should have 
"a spiritual seed to serve him," as the reward, as well as the effect 
of "the travail of his soul;" and that these should be so numerous 
and should live to him in such a manner, as to render him " satis- 
fied with them," as an adequate remuneration for what he did, and 
suffered to secure human redemption. Consequently, when chris- 
tians see sinners saved, they behold this spiritual recompense of 
the all-worthy Savior in process of payment. Every new convert 
adds another instalment of that reward of homage and of glory, 
which Jesus will, at length, receive in full, to repay him for all his 
travail and toil on mans' behalf. Every soul induced to yield itself 
up to him, who gave himself a ransom for all, goes to make up that 
amount of satisfaction, that is to be given to him " for the travail 
of his soul." Is there then not enough to cause every lover of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, to rejoice with a mighty "stir" of joy, whenever 
the Gospel is successful? — Ah! thou blessed Jesus! when we see, 
that thy toils and pains for our unworthy race have not been in vain! 
w T hen we see, that thy precious blood has not been spilt, and has 
not fallen to the ground without effect! — when we see, that thy 
agonies have not been lost upon our fallen world ! — but that the 
spoils of thy saving victory on the cross, are still on the increase ; 
that captive after captive is brought in ; that soul after soul is yield- 
ed unto thee ; that sheaf upon sheaf is gathered for thee ; — each 
giving another and stronger guaranty, that, at length, a full harvest 
of saved ones will be laid at thy feet, furnishing the grand aggre- 
gate of thy stipulated recompense for thy self-devoted sacrifice on 
our behoof: — 0, thou bleeding, loving lamb of God, when this 
cheering vision is in our view ; we fear no excess in our joys, but 
rather fear that the "stir" of joyful emotion, we experience, is infi- 
nitely short of the occasion! 



3?<5 RELISIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENSES. 

Christians are in " no small stir about that way," because of 

4. The increase of human happiness. 

Real christians are true philanthropists. When they are true to 
their principles, they "weep with them that weep, and rejoice 
with them, that do rejoice. " For them to witness others truly 
happy is to be happy themselves. This delight, which all true 
christians feel in the happiness of their fellow beings, easily ac- 
counts for the stirring up of their joy, when the Gospel is successful 
in the conversion of sinners. The Gospel is, in a figure, that 
" pure river of water of life, clear as crystal," flowing -down to 
earth "from the throne of God and of the lamb," which, as it 
progresses onward among mankind, sweeps away before its spread- 
ing s ""reams, successively, the accumulations of human misery, and 
at the same time, rolls forward a swelling flood-tide of blessedness 
through the world ! Its proper purpose is human happiness ; — its 
grand design is to make mankind happy here, and happy forever- 
more. Those, who come by personal experience, to " know its 
joyful sound," are unspeakably "blessed." That this is the fact, 
is self-evident. Sin, in the consciousness of its guilt, and in the 
evils of its practice, has originated and perpetuated all the misery 
in the world: but as the Gospel, when it gains its object with 
men, takes away both the guilt, and the practice of sin, — it, by 
this means, also removes the miseries occasioned by sin; because, 
as soon as the cause has been annihilated, the consequences must 
necessarily cease, as a matter of course. For this reason, it is ob- 
vious, that as the gospel proceeds forward with its saving sanatives, 
the miseries of mankind proportionately lessen, and their happiness 
progressively augments. Every instance of true conversion helps 
on the blessed process. Every soul, that is saved, leads to a re- 
duction of that accumulated mass of suffering, under which our 
globe groans, and superadds another item of enjoyment to that 
increasing fund of blessedness, which, when the influences of the 
Gospel become complete and universal, will render the human 
family "but a little lower than the angels," and make earth as the 
paradise of God regained! This enrapturing view of the happyfy- 
ing effects of the Gospels' triumphs, to a heart that lives in the 
happiness of others, as does every genuine christians' heart, is 



RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDS©. 277 

surely sufficient to set all its sacred fervors in " no small stir ;" 
and while its glowing inspiration sends a burst of unspeakable joy 
thrilling through his bosom, — "out of the abundance of his hearts' 
emotions, his mouth must be filled with loud and reiterated 
praise ! 

We have now followed "this stir" w T herever it spreads among 
men : — w T e have traced this movement, through the band of agoni- 
zing penitents at the foot of the altar; through the crowd of 
enemies that stand off, viewing its progress wuth feelings of hos- 
tility; through the circling ranks of its rejoicing friends, who stand 
bending, in pity, and in prayer, over the returning prodigals : — but 
this "stir about that w-ay" does not stop here! It cannot be 
confined within the bounds of this lower creation! No : it passes 
beyond "the utmost verge of the green earth." It goes on, and 
spreads to other worlds ; and among intelligent beings, in the 
remote regions of Gods' great universe, a commotion is produced, 
when they hear that sinners are converted to " that way," sur- 
passing by far any thing of the kind known on earth ! When the 
Gospel triumphs, "there arises no small stir about that w T ay," 
among 

IV. The inhabitants of other w r orlds. 

The bible is not a book for the curious. It was not designed to 
gratify the idle curiosity of visionary speculatists. Hence it gives 
but little information of other worlds and their inhabitants. Even 
the worlds of heaven, and of hell are but partially revealed to us, 
and only so far as these two w T orlds are connected with our own. 
We are however informed thus much : that the inhabitants of both 
these worlds have intercourse with the human race on earth ; and 
that they obtain, and are acted upon by, a knowledge of the suc- 
cess of the Gospel in the conversion, and salvation of mankind. In 
both of these remote regions of the universe, " there arises no 
small stir about that w T ay," when the Gospel triumphs on earth. 

1. The fallen spirits of hell are in "no small stir about that 
■way," when the Gospel prevails. 

It is an alarming feature in our present state of probation, that 
the evil spirits, w T hose proper place is hell, have ingress to our 
world ; roam over every portion of the habitable globe ; and while 



278 RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 

they mingle unseen among mankind, are constantly and actively 
employed in promoting their everlasting ruin. Satan, and the 
devil — in scripture language — are generally used as generic terms, 
which designate, not one, but many; — not a single demon, but the 
collective and confederated body of fallen spirits, — the whole host 
of infernal powers, allied and combined together in their corporate 
capacity : and these are declared to be, continually " going about 
as a roaring lion, seeking whom they may devour." Actuated by 
the most malignant hatred to the human race, they are unceasingly 
engaged in a strenuous contest for the possession of human souls, 
that they may " lead them captive," " in the bonds of iniquity," 
through time, into a state of hopeless woe through all eternity. 
Nor are these ministers of mischief at all wanting of success in 
their destructive enterprize upon the sinful race of man. How 
generally they succeed in gaining possesssion of the souls of man- 
kind, that they may rule in them to ruin them forever, may be 
inferred from the fact, — that the chief of these infernal spirits is 
denominated " the God of this world," to denote, that he, through 
the agency of his confederate fellow-fiends, has in his power the 
generality of the inhabitants of " this world :" and to render this 
inference a positive reality, we are further informed, that he is "in 
them that believe not," and that he "ruleth in the children of dis- 
obedience," as " captives at his will;" since "the unbelieving" 
and " the disobedient" are denominations, which comprise all the 
adults of the human race, except that comparatively "little flock," 
" who have been delivered from the powers of darkness, and have 
been translated into the kingdom of Gods' dear son." If from 
" the whole world, which, we know, lieth under the wicked one," 
we turn away to look at the case of the individual in possession of 
"the powers of satan;" and connect the fact of the almost univer- 
sal dominion of these " spirits of wickedness," with the inspired 
account of the multitude of these evil demons, that beset, and en- 
slave, and tyrannize over each single subject ; the result of this 
combined view is perfectly astounding ! In one instance, at least, 
an entire legion, which was no less than five thousand, obtained 
possession of one soul : for when they had been cast out of the 
individual by the power of Christ, they confessed, " Our name is 



RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 279 

Legion, for we are many !" Assuming this to be nearly the aver- 
age number of the infernal spirits, that have in possession each one 
of the millions of mankind, under the almost total dominion, and 
within the nearly general kingdom, of "the God of this world;" — 
what a horrible picture does this give of the world of mankind, 
invaded, usurped, enthralled, and hurried on to final misery, by 
hosts upon hosts of abominable fiends ! Deplorable however as is 
the situation of the world under the rule of the Wicked one, it is, 
by no means, past recovery. A divinely instituted operation is in 
progress, which is continually working out a better condition for 
the world of mankind. " For this purpose the son of God was 
manifested," — namely, — "that he might destroy the works of the 
devil !" As the redeeming power of Christ is repeatedly " mani- 
fested," through "the preaching of him crucified" in the succes- 
sive conversions of the souls of mankind, the dismemberment of 
Satans' kingdom, by the dispossession of these " powers of dark- 
ness," is rapidly going on. " The works of the devils' " usurpa- 
tion, in the soul he has surreptitiously possessed, are at once 
overthrown, when the sinner is " begotten again," and becomes 
"a new creature," "by the incorruptible seed of the w T ord" of the 
Gospel of Christ. The captive of Satan is then made " free in- 
deed." "The unclean spirits" are at once cast out from him. 
He escapes from that " bondage of corruption," with which these 
demon-despots had so miserably fettered and entangled his ensla- 
ved soul. The legion of Satan are foiled and put to flight by "him 
that is stronger" than the hosts of hell, armed in all their infernal 
panoply ; and they are stripped of " all their armor wherein they 
trusted," while he, more than conquer over these " evil ones," 
divideth their spoils!" Holy angels, — as they view the "powers 
of satan" fall precipitate, " as lightning to the ground," and the 
rescued captive-soul rise into " the glorious liberty of the sons of 
God," — shout, " Victory ! Victory ! Victory ! through the lamb 
that was slain!" — the saints on earth, — as they behold " the prey 
taken, and the lawful captive delivered" from its infernal bond- 
age, — respond, "Victory! Victory! Victory! though him that is 
mighty to save !" — And what of the vanquished and routed foes of 
God and man ? Think you, — can these fallen spirits of hell sus- 



280 RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDEB. 

tain so signal a defeat, in their contest for the possession of the 
soul they meant to lead to destruction, and they still remain silent, 
and calm, and unconcerned? With an evil nature, such as is 
theirs, — so full of malignant fires, — so pregnant with pride and 
passion, and envy, and revenge, — is it conceivable, that these 
"spirits of wickedness" should be expelled from their long and 
hard contested possession of the soul, — by means too of so simple 
an instrumentality as " the foolishness of preaching," — without 
rousing within them the most violent emotions of regret, rage, re- 
sentment, mortification and desperation ? — No ! — They must cease 
to be devils, — they must be dispossessed of their demoniac dispo- 
sitions, — if they were to submit, patient and passive, to a discom- 
fiture so provoking, and to a reverse so grating, as the loss of a 
victim to their malice? These malignant spirits, from necessity of 
nature, must be in "no small stir" of phrensied passion, when 
"the captain of our salvation," — "with the sword of the spirit, 
which is the word of God," — after this manner, " leads Satans' 
captivity captive!" Ah! — as these baffled fiends are forced to 
flee ; — as the power of the glorious Gospel prevails to snap asunder 
the moral fetters, which they had so long and so securely fastened 
upon the victims of their accursed tyranny : — as their once degra- 
ded, and defiled slave is wrenched from the grip of their infernal 
malignity, and is borne away into the glorious liberty of the Lords' 
freedmen ; as the soul, they designed, and were preparing, to be 
" a son of perdition," — to be their own compeer in wickedness 
and w T oe, shut up in "the blackness of darkness forever, — is trans- 
formed into " a son of God by faith in Christ Jesus," and becomes 
"an heir of eternal life in heaven:" — Who can doubt? — these 
defeated demons, — chagrined, disconcerted, abashed, and crest- 
fallen, — retreat with confused disorder, to iheir proper hell ; where 
maddened with disappointment, — and gnashing upon each other in 
frantic fury, — and stamping w r ith the agony of vexation, — they 
howl over the withering disastei, till all the damned throng of the 
assembly of apostate spirits, that people the wide wastes of the 
world of perdition, are stirred up to an uproarious tumult of raving 
wrath ! 



RELIGietJS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 281 

2. The holy angels of God are in " no small stir about that 
way," when the Gospel triumphs. 

The benevolent beings, who are the natives of the celestial 
world, and who are known to us by the denomination of the angels 
of heaven, have become the warm and generous friends of man- 
kind. One of the many blessed effects of the mediatorial work of 
the Son of God is, that heaven and earth have thereby been brought 
to a state of amity, and amicable intercourse ; so that angels now 
no longer keep aloof — in disaffected distance, from the rebel, man, 
as heretofore ; but are drawn into a nearer and more friendly rela- 
tion to him : Christ having " reconciled not only things on earth, 
but also things in heaven." Connected with us, by the cordial 
compact, effected through the medium of the reconciling cross ; — 
angels are ever the lovers of our lost race ; they frequently visit 
our earth on the missions of divine benevolence ; and we have 
reasons to believe, that there are multitudes of them, invisibly 
present, in the assemblies of the saints ; that they are constant 
and close observers of the thoughts and dispositions, as well as, of 
the actions of the human race ; that they witness with a watchful 
eye the effects of the preaching of the Gospel upon the minds of 
mankind ; that they specially notice, and rejoice at the success of 
that regenerating process upon human souls, by which they are 
" born again ;" and finally that they are joyful heralds of the good 
news of the sinners' repentance on earth, to their fellow- spirits in 
the celestial world. "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent 
forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation ?" Yes ! 
Be assured whenever you enter the house of God, "you come into 
an innumerable company of angels," who assemble there to be 
invisible spectators of the sacred services. They stand around in 
crowded circles, rank around rank, circle without circle, — when- 
ever and wherever the Gospel is preached with life and power ; 
and, as unseen, they bend their penetrating gaze upon the congre- 
gated multitude, their benevolent solicitudes are all awake; eagerly 
watching the wanderings of every eye, — the employment of every 
ear? — the phasis of every thought, — and the movements of every 
heart. No sooner does the Gospel begin to take effect, than they 
are all on the wing, ruffling and fluttering their etherial plumes, in 
36 



282 RELIGIOUS EXCITBMENT UEFINDBD. 

the tremor of suspense. Soon, as the sinners' eye begins to mois- 
ten with the first penitent tear ; — soon, as his lips quiver with his 
first contrite prayer ; — soon, as his bosom heaves with the first 
throes of spiritual birth ; — a detachment of these celestial sentinels, 
rising aloft, sweep circling round the exciting scene, in restless 
haste to take their heavenward flight. — 'Tis done! — "the bitter- 
ness of death is past !" The bounding joy of new-born life breaks 
forth ! He shouts ! — the new-born child of God, with the voice of 
triumph, shouts ! " Glory ! Glory to God in the highest, who re- 
members my sins no more! — who has spoken new life to my 
soul !" The hovering angels catch the rising joy, and rapidly 
spreading their ready wings, rush away, with the glad intelligence 
to the heaven of heavens. ^Soon arrived at their native sphere, — 
they enter the high abode of God ; — with festal pomp, — with peal- 
ing trump, and sounding lyre, and choral song, they enter ! All 
heaven stand hushed to hear! The chief of the herald band, wa- 
ving high the banner of victory, claims public audience of the 
ten thousand times ten thousand of the sons of glory ; and while 
they listen in wrapt attention, he makes proclamation : — " Rejoice 
with me, ye morning stars ; ye sons of God, shout for joy ; for the 
dead is alive again, — the lost one is found!" What now? Is 
there no response to this joyous announcement of the sinners' 
repentance on earth ? O, who needs to be told, that how " arises 
no small stir about that way," among all " the principalities and 
powers of the heavenly places?" "Verily, verily I say unto you, 
there is joy in the presence of the angels of God, over one sinner, 
that repenteth !" — List! List ! — What a universal burst of raptur- 
ous applause ! What high sounding acclamations of triumphant 
joy! What thrilling symphonies swell out the grand chorus of the 
quiring throng! Now all the heaven of heavens is one vast, 
blest jubilee! The trumps, the harps, the shouts of the sons of 
heaven salute, and celebrate the sinners' repentance on earth ! 
The news of this blessed event sends a pulsation of mighty joy 
through the highest heavens, which spreading thence, on all sides, 
is reverberated, in rejoicing echoes, to the utmost bounds of crea- 
tion. A divine smile radiates over the glorious countenance of the 
unveiled Deity, as He looks down upon the returning prodigal :— 



RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT DEFENDED. 283 

a brighter glow kindles through all the shining ranks above, as 
they learn his return to God : and to their " lutes of lucid gold," 
is given a tone of louder harmony, and a touch of more extatic tri- 
umph, as they, delighted, engage in its celebration ! 

In conclusion, it may be observed, that when the Gospel is 
faithfully preached, — the Holy Spirit is present, and makes u no 
small stir about that way." Without going further than your- 
selves; — may I not appeal to your own consciousness in confirma- 
tion of this fact ? Do you not feel his moving influences stirring 
in you at this very moment? Say: has no thought, on this occa- 
sion, passed over your mind that has solemnized your spirits? Has 
no unbidden feeling waked up in your hearts, that swelled deeper 
and more tender, at each succeeding pulse ? Has no impression 
forced itself upon you, that you are in a wrong state ; — that you 
are in danger ; that you must turn, or perish ? Has no conviction 
intruded upon your thoughts, that religion is desirable ; — that the 
service of God is preferable to your chief joy ; — that Jesus, the 
friend of your souls, deserves your hearts, and your all? What 
are these, — all these, but the " stir," which Gods' good spirit 
has been exciting within you, to urge you to be reconciled to God? 
Resist not then the spirit of God ; but yield yourselves to his mer- 
ciful movements : and they will conduct you to the ark of safety, 
and to the mount of God ! 



SERMON X. 

THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 

'• Ye are the light of the world."— Mathew 5 Chap. 14 Verse. 

The desire of happiness is universal. Mankind are all engaged 
in the pursuit of happiness. Their constant aim, — their chief pur- 
pose, — the ruling passion that gives rise to all their activity, labors 
and enterprise, is, — to be happy ! — But do they succeed? Are the 
human family all as happy as they wish to be? Quite the reverse! 
In consequence of the spiritual ignorance, the moral error, and the 
manifold delusions, that have been brought upon the world of man- 
kind by sin, they have lost the way to happiness. "Darkness eov- 
ereth the earth, and gross darkness the hearts of the people:" — and 
benighted and bewildered with this moral darkness, mankind have 
wandered wide of the mark; — they have mistaken the object of 
their pursuit, and have missed the only path that leads to its pos- 
session. Under the mazy influence of the spiritual darkness, that 
sin has introduced into their minds, they have vainly imagined, 
that the happiness, they are ever seeking, may be found in objects 
and pursuits, which only vield disappointment and misery; and 
hence they w T eary and worry themselves in their straying search 
for bliss, — like one groping through the gloom of night, led on 
by illusive suppositions, — only finding pain, where they promised 
themselves pleasure. This is the true cause of all the misery in the 
world. The world is in the dark, — mankind are in error, respect- 
ing, what true happiness consists of, — where such happiness is to 
ba found, — how it is to be obtained; and consequently although 
they are earnestly seeking supreme happiness, — "in the error of 
their ways," they feel little but vexation and sorrow. Being in the 
dark — involved in an overspreading obscurity, — they cannot see 
where, the object they are pursuing, is; and therefore wander into 
ways, that lead them in an opposite direction: like the traveller, in 



THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 285 

a strange country, overtaken by night, who, bewildered with the 
obscuring gloom, misses the proper track, and takes a course, 
which conducts him, at every step, farther and still farther from his 
intended resting-place. 

When the Great Father of all beheld his human family in this 
wretched plight, — as lost wanderers in a stormy, starless night, — ■ 
as travelers through this dark world, seeking rest, but finding none 
He took pity on them ! As he looked down from heaven, and saw 
his erring Children on earth, thus stumbling on in errors' mazes,— 
seeking happiness, but only securing misery, — pursuing good, but 
only procuring evil, — wanting satisfaction, but only worried with 
disappointment, — because of the blindness, with w T hich moral 
darkness has bewildered their minds; when the "God of the spirits 
of ail flesh" beheld his human children in. this sad state of distrac- 
tion, he resolved on an expedient, "to show them the path of life" 
and "to guide them into the way of peace." This expedient, 
dear christians, God has provided in you, who have been brought 
out of darkness into his marvellous light by his converting grace. 
You, — who are "light in the Lord," and "who walk in the light 
of his countenance," — are ordained to be spiritual guides of the 
ignorant and erring of mankind, to direct them to the only solid and 
satisfying pleasure, that nothing besides religion can give! u Ye 
are the light of the world!" You are to be as lamps, to light the 
world back again to happiness. You are to be as so many beacon- 
fires, to point out to your benighted and bewildered fellow beings 
the course they have lost, — which conducts to true enjoyment. 

The world, by reason of ignorance and error, has turned aside, 
and gone out of the right way: and he who has had mercy on you, 
intends and appoints you to be guiding lights, to show the wilder- 
ing wanderers, through the darkness that covers the earth, into the 
road again. You are " to shine among a crooked and perverse 
generation, as light-houses," that throw their conspicuous radiations 
far and wide over the dark waves of the night-shadowed sea, and 
direct the tempest-tossed mariner into the quiet heaven, where he 
may be at rest. You are in possession of the great secret of real 
happiness,— what it is, — where it is to be obtained — in what way 
it may be secured; and you are to disclose the grand desideratum 



286 THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 

to all the world around you. You have "the true light" within 
you; and you have this for the purpose, — not of its being cover- 
ed up, — not to be hidden asunder abed, or a bushel, — but to let 
its lustre shine out on all mankind. The saving grace, given you, 
was meant to be a means of grace to others. The spiritual illu- 
mination, which made you the happy "children of light," was 
intended to be transmitted and thrown out, through the living me- 
dium of your conduct, upon your fellow beings in the world.— 
Your every word should be a ray of spiritual light, — your every 
action a glowing beam, — your whole life one full-orbed radiance 
of religious illumination; that in your light, ignorant, erring men 
may see the way to true happiness. "Ye are the light of the 
world!" 

This language, you are aware, is altogether figurative. It sup- 
posed—what is the fact, — that the unconverted of your fellow 
beings are out of the way of happiness, through their spiritual 
darkness; and it suggests, — what is your bounden duty, — that 
you are to put them into the right way, by endeavoring, through 
every means in your power, to remove that moral darkness of 
theirs, which blinds them to their true happiness. Divested of 
all figure, the meaning is, — you who are indeed christians, are to 
be the instruments of salvation to the world. — Supreme happiness, 
real and certain bliss, is only to be found in the heart-felt experi- 
ence of devotional religion: — the world of mankind are in the 
dark as to this all-important fact: therefore if you are, — what your 
Lord designs you to be, — lights to the men of the world ; you 
must strive to convince them, as well by your words as by your 
actions, that the satisfying happiness, which they have ever been 
seeking elsewhere, is alone to be realized in the personal experi- 
ence of the self-same religion you yourselves enjoy. Thus you 
perceive, when christians are said to be "the light of the ( world," 
it is only another way of saying, that christians are to be the 
instruments of saving the world. Consider then, this Divine insti- 
tution for the salvation of the world, — its excellency, — and also 
its extent. 



THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 28? 

I. The divine institution. 

" Ye are the light of the world." 

The Divine Being communicates to us none of his benefits or 
blessings directly, or immediately ; but employ us, as his agents, 
to convey and to distribute his gifts to one another. He could 
have showered upon us his favors with his owm hand ; He could 
have put in our possession, all that we owe to him, by his ow T n im- 
mediate act ; — having the power to create all things out of nothing, 
He could have spoken, and, at once, it would have been done ; — 
the word of his power bringing to us, at once, — without the use of 
means, and without the interposition of human agency, — every 
good and perfect gift, that corneth from the Father of lights. But 
God has not done so. On the contrary, He has chosen to impart 
to us, whatever he designates for us, through the medium, and by 
the voluntary instrumentality, of our fellow beings. He blesses 
us, by making us a blessing to each other. He uses the hands, 
and heart, and energies of man, to deal out, and to deliver to man- 
kind, "the riches of his goodness." God is truly the author, — 
the giver ; but men are the distributors — the conveyers, that hand, 
or deliver, to the actual recipients, the blessings both of providence 
and grace. 

This is the sentiment expressly inculcated in the text, relative 
to the religious influences of Christianity. God is certainly " the 
father of lights," — spiritual light, or religious illumination un- 
doubtedly originates with, and proceeds from his spirit; yet are all 
christians declared here to be "the lights," through whom spirit- 
ual illumination is to reach " the world." In other words, — God 
is unquestionably the author of salvation ; but He has constituted 
his believing children to be the instruments of salvation to the men 
of the world. He positively asserts, "I am God, and besides me, 
there is no Savior:" and yet He, as positively, assures "the breth- 
ren, if any one of you converteth the sinner from the error of his 
ways, let him know, that he shall save a soul from death." Man- 
kind, that are comprized in "the world," are to be brought to the 
experience of that religion, which saves the soul, through the agen- 
cy, or by means of the example and exertions of persons, who are 
truly converted christians. Really religious persons are all divinely 



288 THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD, 

appointed agents for the saving of the world. This is the divine 
institution, which is expressed in the figurative terms of the text. 
It is a matter of fact ; — it is an invaluable monopoly ; — it is an 
unquestionable duty. 

That christians are ordained of God to be the instruments of sal- 
vation to their fellow beings, is 

1. A matter of fact. 

From the beginning of the Gospel, down through every succeed- 
ing age, to the present time, — pious men have been employed, as 
instruments, to bless and to save the souls of other men. Have 
we not a plain example of this, on the occasion when Peter was 
sent to the praying Centurion? An angel of the Lord appeared to 
Peter, and directed him to go to Cesarea, to one Cornelius, "to 
tell him what he ought to do." But why might the angel not have 
gone himself? The angel could have performed the journey in 
less time, — w T ith less labor ; and he could have given all the infor- 
mation, that Peter imparted, in a superior and more impressive 
manner, Why then did not the angel himself go on this errand, 
and with his own lips, tell to Cornelius " the things he desired to 
know," instead of sending Peter? The answer simply is — it was 
not so ordained. On the contrary, it was appointed, that "this 
treasure should be in an earthen vessel," — that man should be the 
means of salvation to man. Was not this equally evident, when 
Paul w T as called and converted ? The glorified Savior appeared to 
him, as he was on his way to Damascus ; but in reply to Paul's 
inquiry, — " Lord what wilt thou have me to do ?"— -he was com- 
manded, — " Arise, go into the city, and it shall be told thee what 
thou must do:" — While Annanias, by a divine voice, was com- 
missioned to give him all needful instructions. How can this be 
accounted for in any other way than by admitting the fact, that 
God has confined the instrumentality of mans' salvation to man 
alone ? The divine Savior could at once have answered Paul, on 
the spot ; and could have relieved his suspense, much more 
promptly, and in a more excellent way than Annanias had ability 
to do. Wherefore then did not Christ tell Paul, there and then, 
" what he must do ;" and spare the arrested, overthrown, blinded 
rebel, the prolonged suspense, toil, trouble, and perplexity, of re- 



THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 289 

pairing to the city, and of searching up and down its streets to find 
out the man Annanias? This proceeding, like the former, can 
only be explained by referring to the divine institution, that God 
has ordained his own people to be instruments of salvation to their 
fellow beings. By whom were the first believers converted? The 
fishermen of Galilee were the only instruments ! By whom were 
these called and saved, who w T ere " first called Christians in Anti- 
och ?" Has not the Apostle declared, "I have begotten you 
through my Gospel ?" And by what agency have all the subse- 
quent generations of the followers of Christ, been brought to a 
knowledge of the truth ? Not by miracles ; — not by angels ; — not 
by archangels; not by glorified spirits; — not by another and higher 
order of beings ; no! but by Christian men, and Christian women! 
The fact indeed is incontrovertible, that " we have this treasure in 
earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God." 
"For we are laborers together with God." — "Ye are the light of 
the world." 

As this divine institution is thus a notorious fact,— so it is, 

2. An invaluable monopoly. 

To be the select instruments of salvation to their fellow beings ; 
as all Christians are divinely appointed to be, — to the exclusion of 
all other created agents and finite creatures, is unquestionably a 
great distinction ! . God has kept this office, of saving instrument 
tality, for man, and for him only. Other orders of beings, who 
people other worlds, would, no doubt, have been proud to engage 
in an agency, so sublime and so benevolont, as is that of saving 
men's souls ;— but as if God meant to show the partial fondness of 
favoritism to us of the human race, he has monopolized this great 
and blessed work for man ! Yes ! — for man alone is reserved the 
luxury of doing good to the souls of his fellow men ! To man is 
retained exclusively, the precious employ of turning the sinners of 
his race from the error of their ways, and of saving their souls from 
death! "Ye are the light of the world!" — Enviable distinction! 
Exalted office ! Blessed privilege ! There is not an unfallen be- 
ing, in any unfallen world of God's universe, that would not rejoice, 
and glory in visiting our earth, — sinful, disordered, and miserable, 
as earth is,— if he might be permitted to participate in the work of 

37 



290 THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 

saving the souls of mankind. gladly, would any one of Gods 5 
upright creatures, — however high his estate, — however fair his 
native place, — hasten down to our dark world, to share in an en- 
terprize so divinely blessed ! The angels of heaven have already 
given no equivocal evidence of how they feel, and of what they 
would do, on mans' behoof! Springing from their thrones of gold, 
casting aside their festal harps,— they rushed down, through the 
midnight sky, with joyful haste, when Christ, the Savior of men, 
was born ; that they might be first to tell to the slumbering world, 
the good tidings of that great event ! And, think you, would they 
be less eager, or less pleased, to become the instruments of that 
salvation, which Christ come to secure for man ? no! — the tall- 
est and brightest of the heavenly host would, with delight, stand 
among you in this house, at this hour, could he have permission to 
preach to you, "the unsearchable riches of Christ !"— and if aught 
approaching to discontent can exist in the high and happy world, 
where they have their homes — doubtless, the occasion is the divine 
institution on earth, that monopolizes this illustrious employ for 
man ! Can you doubt this, when you read, — " there is joy among 
the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth ?" 0, if they are 
so joyful in the result ; — would they be less joyful to become the 
instrumental cause ? If repentance, in every instance, fills them 
with delight; — would they not glory in the privilege of becom- 
ing the instruments of the repentance of sinners ? If they ever 
exult over the work when done ; — would they not feel honored, — 
enraptured, in taking a part in its accomplishment ? Yes ! yes ! 
Beloved christians, — ye, who are " the light of the world," — these 
sons of glory would joyfully exchange places with you, while you 
are employed in " your work of faith and labor of love!" To 
occupy your position, when kneeling in prayer for perishing souls, 
angels would readily quit their station before the glorious high 
throne of heaven :— to stand in your stead, pointing sinners to 
"the lamb of God," they would gladly, for a season, leave the ce- 
lestial choir, and drop their joyful hallelujahs: that they, like you, 
might gather around the agonizing souls, that press " the anxious 
seat,"^ and urge on the sinners' travail of soul to its prosperous 
issue in the new birth,— willingly would they, for a while, their 



THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVIN© THE WORLD. 291 

robes of light throw off, and lay down their starry crowns ! — For 
aught we know, angels are constantly employed as instrumentali- 
ties in the mighty works and great operations of nature. It is not 
improbable, that angels are engaged, under God, — to wield the 
hurricanes of heaven ; — to roll the proud billows of the mighty 
deep ; — to launch the forked lightnings through the lowering sky; 
to heave the trembling plains, and tottering hills with earthquakes ; 
to scatter devouring pestilence, among the guilty nations ; to wheel 
the revolving stars along their shining way on high ! For aught 
we know, angels are always employed in these vast undertakings, 
that constitute the grand operations of nature, and exhibit its most 
magnificent phenomena : and yet we have reason to believe, they 
would, with a joyous preference, leave these vast engagements, to 
become "lights of the world!" None of these exercises are so 
dear to them, as would be their employ in the cause of souls ! — all 
these they would cordially relinquish, to become instruments of 
salvation to sinners ! Over these mighty agencies of theirs, they 
are never said to rejoice. They are. not said, to evince unusual 
joy, nor indeed any joy at all — when they ride on the wings of the 
whirlwind, or walk upon the wind-vexed waves of the sea ; — when 
they blaze in lightning, or speak in thunder ; — when they smite 
with pestilence, or sing to the music of the spheres. Over these 
vast operations of theirs they do not joy : — yet they do rejoice, 
with new, and unknown delight, over every sinner that repenteth ! 
What greater proof can we have, that they would really count our 
agency in saving human souls, a higher privilege, of greater worth, 
than their highest occupations in the works of nature? How pow- 
erfully then does all this prove to us, that to be instruments of sal- 
vation to our fellow beings, is nothing less, and nothing otherwise, 
than an invaluable monopoly! Let the renowned kings of the 
earth glory in swaying the sovereign sceptre over subject millions; 
let the mighty captains glory in leading forth to war, their embat- 
tled hosts; let the great men of the earth glory in making the laws 
and fixing the destinies of empires: — Christians, be ours the diviner 
glory, of working together with God for the salvation of the souls 
of mankind ! This is our monopoly as Christians : let it be our 
highest delight, and our most enthusiastic boast ! 



292 THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 

If however this divine institution confers upon all christians an ex* 
alted distinction — it is no less certain, that every christian is bound 
to be "the light of the world," because imposed upon him as, 

3. An unquestionable duty. 

The people of God are said to be "the children of light and of 
the day." They are therefore required by the character they sus- 
tain, as well as by the nature of the case, "to let their light so 
shine, that men may see their good works." No, — it is not op- 
tional with christians, whether or not they will care, and labor for 
the souls of their fellow beings. Duty, — imperative duty, — indis- 
pensable and unavoidable duty, — duty, to which they are urged by 
every sacred and solemn consideration, — obligates them to pray, 
and to strive, with diligence, with patience, with zeal, for the sal- 
vation of sinners. 

May not this be presumed from the various talents, which God 
has bestowed upon men of piety, and the different circumstances, 
in which he has placed them ? Why were these talents given, or 
these circumstances allotted ? Were they given without design ? 
allotted without intention ? Was nothing contemplated by the be- 
stowment of these eminent gifts, or by the overruling of these 
favoring circumstances? Impossible! Folly, in any way, or in 
any degree, cannot be in the God of infinite w T isdom ; — and yet it 
would have been extreme folly to provide means, and opportunities, 
for religious usefulness, unless there had been a pre-determined 
intention, that these should be actually used for the purposes to 
which they were adapted. If then Christians, by their various 
gifts and graces, are fitted to influence their fellow creatures, so as 
to become instrumental to their salvation; and if opportunities are 
afforded for the exercise of this influence ; there is a presumptive 
proof of obligation existing, and intended, that they should endeavor 
to save the lost of mankind. The talents possessed, with the cor- 
responding occasions that offer for their being used — carry in them- 
selves, and lay upon their possessor, the obligations of duty, to be 
"laborers together with God" for the evangelizing of "the world." 

But we have higher authority than reason. The commands, as 
well as the warnings, of scripture, combine to demonstrate, that 
christians, — all christians are bound in duty, to live, and to labor 



THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 293 

for the salvation of the souls of their fellow beings. In the Holy 
Scriptures, how often is this enjoined? and how are the persons 
threatened, who are guilty of its neglect ? Is it asked, where is 
this commanded ? : — Where ? Where it is wiitten, " freely ye have 
received, freely give." Where ? Where it is enjoined, " To do 
good, and to communicate, forget not." — Where ? Where it is 
commanded, " Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace 
of God."— Where ? Where it is required, "Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself." — Where ? Where it is imperatively urged, 
" Be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the 
Lord." But time would fail, to tell all the places where this is 
commanded in the inspired word. Indeed it is not so much the 
subject of any one command, as it is the general strain of the 
whole preceptive part of the sacred writings ! As to the warnings 
of scripture upon this subject — these are also numerous, and they 
are most pointed. One of these scriptural warnings however, will 
be all-sufficient for our purpose. Hearken, ye that know the Lord: 
" If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and 
those that are ready to be slain ; if thou sayest, behold we knew it 
not; doth not he that pondereth the heart, consider it? and he that 
keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it ? and shall not he render to 
every man according to his works ?" Surely after these words have 
been read, nothing further, upon this point, can be necessary. 
The multiplied injunctions of Gods' word, backed by a warning so 
solemn, and decisive, prove most evidently, that duty obliges every 
christian, man, or woman, to be " the light of the world," by liv- 
ing and laboring for the salvation of all men. 

Having now set before you the institution itself, we shall pass on 
to view, 

II. The extent of this divine institution. 

"The world!" 

The line of your duty, christians, as the divinely constituted in- 
struments of salvation, is to circumscribe no less a sphere than the 
entire boundary of the habitable globe. "The world!" — "the 
world" in every part! — the whole "world!" is to be, the range of 
your religious influence— the field of your benevolent operations — 
tkg orbit of your spiritual illumination ! " Ye are the light of the 



294 THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 

world!" "The light" of the patriarchal religion was of narrow 
extent ; being shut up within the family circle. " The light" of 
the Mosaic economy was likewise contracted ; being confined 
within the small bounds of the land of Judea. " The burning and 
shining light" of the ministry of John the Baptist, not only was but 
"for a season," but was also limited in its scope ; being intended 
exclusively for "the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But " the 
light" of the christian dispensation is more expansive, and is in- 
tended for universal diffusion. It is " a light to lighten the Gen- 
tiles to the ends of the earth !" It is " the true light, which is to 
enlighten every man that cometh into the world." Hence it fol- 
lows, as here stated, "Ye are the light of the world !" It is not 
merely a house, you are to light back to the supreme good. It is 
not merely the contracted circle of your friends, and acquaintances, 
you are to make to rejoice in your "light." " Your light" is 
not to be confined to the village, or hamlet, or town, or vicinity, in 
which you reside. You are not to be satisfied with giving "light" 
to the country, that gave you birth. All these spheres of influence 
and of operation are too small, — too narrow, — too cramped, — too 
limited. " The world" is your diocess! "The world!" is your 
field ! " The world" is your domain ! " The world !" — in all its 
continents and islands! — with all its millions of immortal beings! 
in all the diversities of the condition, constitution, and characteris- 
tics of many-tongued humanity ! — no less than this entire world is 
to be the scene of your christian enterprize, — the subject of our 
perpetual prayers, — the recipient of your religious influence, — the 
object of your evangelical efforts! 

Our first duty is to save our own souls. Next the souls of our 
families and of our immediate relations demand our care. After these 
the neighborhoods, where we reside, call for our christian regards. 
Then the country, which gave us birth, has claim upon our reli- 
gious benevolence. Our patriotism however should not confine our 
benevolent efforts to the country of our nativity: but spurning from 
us that little, narrow, selfish spirit, which would raise up one na- 
tion upon the ruins of another, and that would aggrandise one peo- 
ple by the spoliation of another — our charities should go out to the 
ends of the earth, embracing in the outstretched arms of itsbenev- 



THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 295 

olence the entierty of mankind. A christian is, by divine consti- 
tution, a citizen of the universal world ; and by virtue of his com- 
man citizenship, is bound to pray, to live, and to labor, for the 
salvation of every " kingdom, people, and tongue, upon the face 
of the earth." " For ye are the light of the world !" 

By " the world" is, of course, meant the inhabitants of "the 
world ;" and hence, you perceive, your duty embraces, 
1. Every description of character in "the world." 
Your fellow beings of all classes, — in all circumstances, — of all 
characters, — and in all grades of society, — are to be objects of 
your christian sympathy, and the subjects of your enlightening in- 
influences. None are to be deemed so low, or so vile as to be 
beneath your notice ;— none, so high, or so exalted as to be 
above your influence; — none, so remote, or so sequestered, as to 
be beyond the reach of your exertions. "Ye are the light of the 
world;" and, as such, your "light" is to shine in ever human 
habitation, and to guide every human being;— you are to enlight- 
en every place, and every person, in "the world." In the dark 
and lowly abodes of poverty, and in the fair and splendid man- 
sions of affluence; — upon the sons of toil and of trade, and upon 
those that are "at ease in their possessions," — your "light" is to 
be shed forth : — upon the illiterate, grovelling in the grossness of 
their ignorance, and upon the intellectual, inflated with their 
damning pride; — upon the scowling Deist, uponthe sneering Prof- 
ligate, upon the fawning Hypocrite, upon the stately Pharisee, and 
uponthe stiff Formalist ; nor should you pass by unpitied, un- 
prayed for, and unlabored for, that worst of sinners, — twice dead, 
doubly darned, — the nearerst lost among the perishing of men, 
the fallen professor ! the forlorn apostate, fallen away from grace 
abused! — Masters must not think the task too humiliating, to lead 
their menial servants into the way of life ; servants must not think 
the act too presuming, to direct their employers to the refuge of 
spiritual hope. Parents, in their zeal for the general salvation, 
must not overlook their little babes ; children must not fear, in the 
meekness of wisdom, to urge their parents to flee from the wrath 
to come. Female timidity must not deter the wife from pleading 
with her wedded companion on his souls behalf; motives of del- 



296 THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 

icacy should not induce the husband to leave the wife of his bo- 
som, uncalled, uninvited, or unwarned. The aged must not suf- 
fer themselves to be repelled by the flippancy of youth ; nor the 
youth by the sternness of age. A christian may not pass by any 
of the human race, thinking them below notice — beyond hope — or 
without the pale of benevolence. He is to be " the light of the 
world," and, of consequence, of all kinds of persons in "the 
world." 

Hence you may still further observe, that this duty evidently 
includes 

2. All the different nations of the world. 

" To the ends of the earth," your " light" is to go out. " The 
people that sit in darkness," in every part of the habitable globe, 
are to be visited by the direct, or reflex influence of your spiritu- 
al enlightenment. You are to illuminate the nations of the earth, 
so as to conduct them into the way of true happiness, by making 
them know "the way of salvation," both through the Missiona- 
ries you send among them, and the spirit, or dispositions you 
manifest toward them. Your Missionary representatatives are 
to tell, to the distant nations, of that " true light, which is come 
into the world ;" and you are to confirm and to illustrate the mes- 
sages of the Missionaries, by your deportment to these benighted 
nations; — your prayers for them, — your concern on behalf of 
them, — and your sacrifices and exertions to have conveyed to 
them the bread of life. — Your "light" is to be placed in public 
view of the whole world, in a prominent position to be seen by 
all mankind ; as " the light of a city set upon a hill, which cannot 
be hidden." Ever to be kept burning bright and clear, — not to 
be put under a bed, or within a bushel, — "the light of Christian- 
ity" is to be exalted upon the candlestick of the church, that all 
the people of all the kingdoms of the earth may see its glory, — 
rejoice in its radience, — and be blessed under its meliorating in- 
fluences. God of nations, grant, that christian America may ever 
serve, among the nations of the earth, as the moral light-house of 
the world ; that sending to them emanations of evangelic light, 
through all its intercourse, all its communications, and all its con- 
nections with all other nations — they may thereby be brought to a 



THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 297 

universal harmony here, and hereafter to happiness forevermore. — 
"Ye! are the light of the world," and of course, of every nation of 
"the world." 

What a blessed w T orld, our world would be, if this divine insti- 
tution were at once carried out in all its benevolence, and in all 
the boundless of its extent! Let us take a view of, 

III. The excellency of this divine institution. 

This divine arrangement, — by which all christians are constitu- 
ted the special agents for the promotion of the salvation of mankind, 
is, in every point of view, truly excellent. It is calculated to pro- 
duce good on all hands, without any accompanying, or consequent 
evil. It is of the nature of a double benefit; it blesses him, who 
gives, and it also blesses him who receives, its benificence; it ben- 
efits the doer, in his deed, and it benefits those for whom it is done, 
in its recipiency. 

As a proof of the excellency of this divine institution, — observe, 

1. It creates a fellow feeling among mankind. 

The fall of man introduced among men that impious, inhuman 
rule, — "Every man for himself!" Hence-forward mankind be- 
came self-seeking, and self-interested, and self-absorbed; "shut- 
ting up the bowels of their compassion" from their fellow beings. 
Accordingly the scriptures more than once, tells us, that "men 
have become lovers of their own selves." — Now this accused spir- 
it of selfishness, — the divine duty here described, — tends directly 
to destroy. The very effort, in striving for the salvation of their 
fellow beings, naturally, and necessarily begets in the bosom of 
the individual so employed, a feeling of generosity towards man- 
kind, and a kind interest in their well-being. — For what costs us 
little, we care but little. On the contrary, — whatever costs you 
much trouble or labor, for that you feel the most regard. Every 
good turn takes love along with it ; and the more so, the longer the 
time, and the harder the labor given in its performance. You, 
that are parents, give love with every thing you give to your chil- 
dren; and the more trouble you have with them, and the more you 
do for them for their good, the greater is your affection for them. 
It is precisely on this principle, that praying and laboring for the 
salvation of our fellow beings, necessarily create a feeling of gen* 
38 



298 THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 

erous concern for their welfare. How many and how striking are 
the examples of this fact to be found on record in the scriptures! — 
Only think, how Paul writes about that fugitive slave, Onesimus! 
Hear him, as he speaks with such tenderness respecting that run- 
away ; "I beseech thee for my own son ? — receive him, as my own 
bowels." Astonishing! — How came this vagabond to be so dear 
to Paul? What made the apostle feel so tenderly, and speak so 
affectionately of a person, so mean and so vile as this Onesimus, 
that he should call him, "his own son," — yea! — "his own bow- 
els?" — What? — How? — 0, this was the singular secret: — Paul 
had labored for, until he had effected his conversion! He had pray- 
ed much for Onesimus ; he had preached powerfully to him ; he 
had conversed earnestly with him ; he had strove hard to convict 
him, and to have him converted; until he finally succeeded in saving 
him! This, this, was the reason, why this absconding slave be- 
came so tenderly beloved by the apostle. Having met with him 
at Rome, — whither he had fled furtively from his master, — Paul 
had a deal of trouble with him, and had bestowed a deal of labor 
upon him, before he could bring him into captivity to the law of 
Christ ; and because his love to him became great, in proportion to 
the greatness of the effort made for his conversion, — therefore the 
apostle calls him, "his own son, and his own bowels!" — Now the 
same kind of efforts have, in all cases, precisely the same influ- 
ence in generating this fellow-feeling in the hearts of the actors, 
while performing these "labors of love." The more we endeavor 
to do good to our fellow-beings, the more will our fellow-beings be 
loved by us. As the most effectual way to excite our hatred against 
an individual is, first wilfully to injure him; so the converse of this 
is true, — and if we would really love a person, we must labor much 
for his good. Our love to man will ever be found to increase in 
the same ratio, as our labors for the salvation of mankind contin- 
ue, and abound. — Did you ever consider, why Gods' love to us, is 
so much greater than our love to God? the reason is plain: — 
God has had so mu ch trouble with us : and he has done so much 
more/or us, than we have done, or can ever do for him\ — Be as- 
sured, that the endeaver to confer benefits upon others, is the sure 
incentive, and the continued support, of all the kind and generous 



THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD, 299 

affections of philanthropy. Strive to bring your fellow creatures 
into the enjoyment of the blessing of Christianity; and 'the very 
endeavor will awake in your bosom a feeling of greater, warmer, 
more generous sympathy for them, that will lead you onward, in 
a growing delight in doing good to them, still more, and more 
abundantly. It will create within you a deep, disinterested, sym- 
pathising, concern for the souls of all men ; and especially for 
those, who are the immediate objects of your benevolent efforts. 
See you a man, who cares for none ; — who looks with an eye of 
cold indifference upon the calamities and condition of mankind? 
Be sure, he has been idle all the day of his grace ; he has been 
sitting still at ease, merely speculating, in empty thoughts upon 
his fellow man, when he should have been up, and working for 
his salvation ! — See you again a person, whose sensibilities vibrate 
to every throb of human pain ; whose eyes distil with the dews°of sym- 
pathy upon every object of human misery; whose ear affects the 
heart at every note of human woe whose lips pour forth the soft 
words of generous sypathy, in response to every plaint of human 
want; whose bosom swells with strong and sorrowful emotions, at 
every thought upon mans' lost estate? Ah! this is the man, who 
has been busy in " works of mercy," and who has labored much 
and long for the greatest good of his fellow-men ! — a labor, that 
has made him love them better, the more actively and the more 
extensively he devoted himself to the advancement of their wejl- 
being! — Obviously then an institution which, in itspractical op- 
eration, is productive of so good feeling, must be truly excellent. 

A further proof of the excellency of this institution is, 

2. It is most congenial with human nature. 

That persons "of like passions with ourselves" are to be "the 

light of the world," — not angels or any other race of beings, is 

an arrangement, most consonant with the feelings, and capabilities 
of mankind. Any different arrangement, if not absolutely imprac- 
ticable, would, at least, have been very incommodious. If angels, 
for instance had been appointed to this office, and had been sent 
to impart to the world " the light of life ;" — would not such a reg- 
ulation have been alike unsuitable and embarrassing to mankind ? 
How overwhelming to feeble humanity must have been the pres- 



300 THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 

ence of a minister of God, so clothed with splendor, as are the 
angels ! — and with their superior powers and prerogatives, — how 
oppressive, to the thoughts and feeling of human weakness, must 
have been their ministrations on earth ! — We have some rare in- 
stances, on record, of angels, in their native grandeur, appearing 
on earth visibly, to communicate to men divine intelligence ; and 
in each instance, affright and terror were the effects invariably 
produced. This was the case, when an angel showed himself to 
Manoah and his wife : — did they not cry out, in great alarm and 
dread, " We shall surely die, and not live ; because we have seen 
Jehovah's angel ?" The same effects were induced, by the visible 
appearance of an angel, to Zechariah, the father of John ; and to 
Mary, the mother of Jesus? — does not the evangelist, in both these 
instances, declare, that, when they saw the angel, " they were 
troubled, and great fear fell on them ?" You remember too, how 
John felt, w T hen the angel appeared to him in the isle of Patmos : 
he fell flat upon the ground, before the angel, completely abashed 
and overcome, in the presence of his glory ! Can there be then 
any doubt, that we should have been affected in a similar manner, 
if the angels had been ordained to be the instruments of our salva- 
tion ? Their greatness would have made us afraid ! Their splen- 
dor would have overwhelmed us! Their immense superiority 
would have paralized us ! So it would have been, in their public 
ministry among us : — how much more so in the private walks of 
religion ! If we had been compelled to consult an angel for reli- 
gious advice, in the privacy of our closets, — what should we have 
felt ! — and what could we have done, if we had been necessitated 
to speak, face to face with angels, in our love feasts, and in our 
class meetings! Suppose, angels had been appointed to be our 
Sabbath School teachers ; how w T ould our terror-struck children 
have trembled, and fainted, under the subduing glance of beings 
so illustrious ! And our lisping infants, when they first begin to 
ask about God, and the things of God ! — what would they have 
done in such a case ? Would they have dared to open their quiv- 
ering lips before an all-glorious angel ? No !— no !— these little 
loves would surely have shrunk away in affright, clinging still closer 
to their fearful mother, and hiding in her sheltering bosom their 



THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 301 

little heads ! That human beings, rather than angels, or any other 
order of agencies, are to be the instruments of salvation to man- 
kind, is undoubtedly an excellent institution, — best suited to the 
feelings, and preferences of mankind ! 

An additional evidence of the excellency of this divine institu- 
tion is, 

3. The salutary employment it furnishes. 

God is an eternal enemy to all idleness. Among all the various 
creatures, that He has created, He has not made one single idler. 
The idlers among men, we meet with in the world, have made 
themselves such ;-— God, when He created them, intended them 
all — like all his other creatures — for activity, industry, usefulness! 
Look along the whole chain of beings, from the minutest to the 
most magnificent : — there is not one do-nothing drone of Gods' 
creating, from first to last ! Survey the brute creation : there is no 
idler among them! The animals are obliged to labor, from morn- 
ing to night, to gather up the food, necessary for their sustenance, 
Mark the fowls of heaven : there is no idler among them ! The 
birds are compelled to be continually on the wing, to collect the 
scattered nutriment, which providence provides for them. Ex- 
plore the world of waters, — the Ocean, alive in all its depths, with 
different forms and sizes of organized life: there is no idler among 
them ! These tenants of the sea, — which, for want of limbs, and 
loco-motive powers, can scarcely stir themselves, — the oysters and 
clams, — get, where the rushing tide rolls, or the surging breakers 
sweep, that they may be kept in motion, amid the whirling waves ! 
The same character of activity pervades all Gods' works. The 
rational creation, as much as brute creatures, are fitted and de- 
signed for useful activity. The all-wise Creator never intended 
any of the human race to be idle ; and if we are idle, we mani^ 
festly cross, or run counter to the end of our creation. He that 
made us, — made us for action, and has provided some good work 
for all of us to do. Nor was this superfluous. There was a moral 
necessity for thus furnishing us w T ith useful employment. God had 
a good reason for placing us in a condition, that would call for our 
activity and exertions. It was a precautionary measure, to pre- 
serve us from temptations to evil, that peril our w T ell being. He, 



302 THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 

who has determined our state of existence, was under a sort of ne- 
cessity to make such an arrangement in the exigencies of our 
state, as would always keep us busily employed in beneficial ope- 
rations ; because He could not but know, that a state of idleness is 
half-way to hell ; that to allow us to have nothing to do, is to 
leave us at leisure for our eternal undoing ; that if we are not en- 
gaged in doing good, we should be sure to be doing mischief. 
" The devil always finds some w 7 ork for idle hands to do," — is one 
of the truest lines ever penned, notwithstanding its extreme simpli- 
city. Christians therefore are bound to acknowledge, and to ad- 
mire the goodness of God, displayed in the requirements of this 
institution, that relieves them from a lack of employment, without 
which they would have been in a state of exposure to temptation ; 
and that, by laying them under sacred obligations to live and to 
labor for each others good, and for the spiritual welfare of the 
world at large, has furnished them with a salutary occupation. 
But let the idler know, that he is an anomoly amid the universally 
active w T orks of God ! The whole universe of mind, and of matter 
is in motion — all, all, besides these dronish anomolies of mankind, 
are on the move; — all, all, — but these unnatural exceptions, — are 
active, — busy, some in doing good, others in doing evil ! Angels 
are not idle. They are all animation. 

"Their worship no interval knows, 
" Their fervor is ever on the wing." — 

Devils are not idle. They are all busy, "always going about." 
Their malice never suffers them to rest, and they know no cessa- 
tion from their works of mischief. Creation is not idle. The stars 
roll on without a pause. The sun never stops. The seasons are 
always passing round. Vegetation comes and goes without any 
interval of inactivity. The fountains of water are always on the 
flow. The rivers do not linger, or stay, among the green vallies 
and majestic mountains, amid which they pass. The Ocean, in 
restless activity, is always heaving its billows, rushing upon, and 
retreating from, the shore, in its ebbing and flowing tides. The 
spirits of the departed dead are not idle. The happy souls of the 
saints in glory, worship God day and night. The damned spirits 



THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 303 

of the wicked in hell are always biting their chains of darkness, 
and are cursing their existence every moment. Where then are 
idlers ? Are you, professor of religion, idle ? If you are ; — if you 
are doing nothing to fulfill the purposes of your religious calling — 
see, you are by yourself — unlike all besides, — a shocking contrast 
to the whole, wide universe ! — a marked, singular, shameful mon- 
strosity, among a universe of creatures all in motion. 0, pray 
God, that you may be aroused from your state of nothingness, by 
his quickening spirit ; and that you may become busy in doing his 
will, by doing good, and delighting to do good, to the souls of your 
fellow beings ! 

The excellency of the divine institution is still more evident, 
because 

4. It makes us God-like. 

God is happy : — and what makes him happy is, He is always 
"rejoicing over his creatures to do them good." To do good to 
others, is all Gods' delight. All his plans, and all his purposes 
were originally framed, and are succesfully carried out, w T ith the 
single design, of securing his own supreme blessedness in dispen- 
sing good to others. His happiness consists, — not in receiving, 
but in giving; — not in getting good, but in dealing out good. 
"What are all his creatures, but so many constituents, created for 
the express purpose of affording to God objects, on which to bestow 
his beneficence ! All his creatures, in heaven, earth, and other 
worlds, were made, not to do him good, but to be recipients of his 
goodness, The angels were made, — not merely to spend their 
lives, and expend their energies in his service; — no! — but to be 
the receivers of his benefits, and beatitudes, forever ! Man was 
formed, — not merely to fear, to obey, and to serve his Maker — no! 
but that he might be blessed with Gods' everlasting bounties ! 
The world itself was created, — not for a mere display of power 
and wisdom : — no ! but to furnish one ample table for the banquet 
of Gods' goodness, where he meant all his earth-born creatures to 
revel with festive delight, throughout the whole term of their exis- 
tence. Yes! yes! — "The earth is full of his goodness;" and 
" his delights are with the children of men !" Now the Parent of 
all good desires all his believing children to have the same benev- 



304 THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORL0. 

olent disposition as himself in this respect, that they may have a 
similar happiness to his : and for this reason, He has constituted 
them to be instruments of good to each other, and to mankind -in 
general. The individual, who has acquired the art of doing good 
to others, is so far God-like. He comes up to the resemblance of 
the Divine character, in the same proportion as he feels a pleasure 
in doing good to others. The most marked feature in the charac- 
ter of God is his delight in doing good to others ; and hence the 
person, who feels the same kind of delight in doing good, is most 
obviously God-like. He may be a mere child in intellect — a mere 
walking animal in body, — a dung-hill pauper in circumstances, — 
an old, crooked cripple on crutches, clothed in rags ; but if he de- 
lights in doing good to others, — he is more than human, — more 
than angelic ; — he is " a partaker of the divine nature !" He rises 
by the employment of his delights, to a companionship with Deity ! 
He is "a worker together with God!" 0, the divine delight of 
doing good to others ! Christians, be this bliss ever yours ! 

The divine institution is entitled to the claim of excellency, 
because 

5. It involves no risk. 

There is no danger to ourselves, in the endeavor to be instru- 
mental to the salvation of our fellow beings. Some of the efforts, 
to which humanity prompts us on behalf of the bodies of men, ne- 
cessarily involve no small peril to our own person. The individual, 
w T ho endeavors to save another from drowning, is often in danger 
of being drowned himself. The man, who tries to rescue another 
from the flames, when his house is on fire, frequently runs the risk 
of burning himself. But here is quite the reverse. Here all are 
safe — the helper and the helped. The person, who seeks to rescue 
the souls of his fellow beings from " drowning in perdition;" — the 
individual, who strives to pluck his neighbor as " a brand from the 
everlasting burnings," runs no risk whatever to his own soul. 
Nay — so far from this is the fact, that it may be certainly asserted, 
that the individual, who is most constantly and most eagerly enga- 
ged in this labor of love, is invariably the safest, as to his own 
personal salvation. The very effort of the endeavor to save the 
souls of others, has a direct tendency to keep alive a concern, and 



THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 305 

to spur on the contest, for our own salvation. It is not activ- 
ity, but indolence, that involves risk. The danger, to our own 
souls, lies, — not in energy, but in supineness ; — not in working, 
but in idling. When was it, that David sinned so grievously ? — 
Not when he gave no rest to his eyes, nor slumber to his eye-lids, 
in his zeal and industry in the cause of God, and of his church ! 
No, — it was when he was idly strolling about, upon the top of his 
palace ! — And when did Peter fall ?— Not when he was actively 
employed in turning "the keys of the kingdom" of Christ, to let 
in the penitent and believing Gentiles ! No ! — it was when he 
was lazily lounging about the high-priests' mansion ! When was 
it, that Paul and Barnabas contended, and disagreed, and separa- 
ted ? Not when they were zealously laboring for the conversion of 
the heathen, " instant in season and out of season ! No, — it was 
when they were at home, — at Antioch, — at their ease ! Ah ! yes! 
it is ease, — indolent ease, — careless ease !^ — not activity, — not en- 
gagedness, — that is perilous to personal salvation ! There is no- 
thing to fear, — no danger whatever of that persons' salvation, who 
is " smitten with a love of souls," and who therefore " counts not 
his life dear unto himself," "if by any means he may save some !" 
It is a safe institution under which he acts ; and by which, through 
a practical regard to its requirements, " he will'both save himself 
and those who hear him." 

The excellency of this divine institution is apparent, because 

6. It will make heaven more delightful. 

In that world of friendship and of love, which is to be the final 
home of the people of God, "we shall all know, even as we are 
known." The personal acquaintances, that existed among the 
children of God on earth, will be renewed and continued in heaven, 
more perfect than even here ; and will be perpetuated, with in- 
creasing pleasure, through a glorious immortality. Every one, 
that has been instrumental in saving souls here on earth, will be 
recognized and acknowledged as a benefactor, by the persons, 
whom he helped to save, when all meet in heaven. How blissful 
such recognitions in that " high and holy place" will be,— who 
can tell ? To be pointed out, with grateful commendations, before 
the admiring, and applauding throng of heaven, as the dispenser 
39 



306 THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 

of that holy "light," which guided " many souls to glory," and 
fitted them for its exalted pleasures and pursuits ; — while " the 
high and lofty one," looks down well pleased to hear: — O, will 
not this render the full joys of heaven a thousand-fold more blessed? 
How gratifying to hear one say, "Do you forget the pamphlet, you 
presented to me, in yon old world? — Ah! that small book con- 
verted my precious soul." Another interrupts the first, exclaim- 
ing, " 0, how you prayed for me ; — do you recollect ? Glory to 
God ! that prayer of yours led me to pray for myself, till the price- 
less pearl of religion was mine!" "Remember you, that little 
word you spoke to me, when without hope and without God in the 
world ;" — adds a third happy being. "0, Brother, that warning 
word of yours broke my hard heart!" While still another cries 
out, with gratitude gleaming in his eye, and glowing in his coun- 
tenance, " Can I forget, that great protracted effort, near my home 
on earth, or that sermon, so plain, so powerful, you then preached? 
Praised be the Lord forever and ever, that sermon, w T as, to me, as 
"the sword of the spirit," — " a sharp, two edged sword," and set 
me to seek, until I found, the God of my salvation !" Then a 
multitude of grateful voices, without number, join to shout, "Hal- 
lelujah, hallelujah, for the services of the saints of God, that were 
the light of the world!" How glorious such acknowledgments! 
How happifying such recognitions! Will they not make a higher, 
better, and more blessed heaven, in heaven itself? Compare the 
man, who is thus recognized in heaven as the honored instrument 
of saving many souls, while on the earth; — with that man, whom 
no happy spirit there will hail as a religious benefactor : (if in- 
deed such a useless, listless, lovelorn individual can possibly find a 
place in heaven, at last)! and then say, how far the heaven of the 
one, will transcend the heaven of the other, in bliss and glory ! — 
Give me, — give me, that mans' heaven, who has been useful, in 
saving a multitude of souls on earth ! " For what is our hope ! — 
our joy!— our crown of rejoicing ? Are not even ye, in the Lord, 
at his coming!" 

In conclusion, this subject suggests a few remarks, which will 
be briefly stated to you, in the way of practical application. Ob- 
serve then, 



THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD, 307 

(1.) There is evidently a concatenation, or chain of moral con- 
nexion between mankind, from one generation to another. The 
conduct of all kinds of characters has a powerful effect — either for 
good or for evil, — upon every succeeding race of men. No one 
can have his actions to himself, or can make their effects stop 
within his own person. What you now do in the world, will have 
an influence, beneficial or prejudicial, upon the worlds' inhab- 
itants, to the very end of time. Your actions, in the present day, 
will entail, in their moral influences, a blessing, or a curse upon 
the world of mankind, through all coming generations. Who 
would have imagined, that the actions of Abraham, or of Moses, or 
of David and others, — w T ho lived, and acted, thousands of years 
ago, — would have had any influence upon us, in the present day ; 
living, as we do, at this remote distance of time and place ? Yet 
such is the fact, undoubtedly ! How many in modern times, have 
been really actuated by the influence of Abrahams' faith in God, 
so as to walk in his steps ? What a number of persons, even in 
this our day, have been convicted of their guilt and danger by the 
writings of Moses ? and has not his example, in " choosing afflic- 
tion with the people of God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin 
for a season," had the effect of leading not a few, since his age, to 
do the same ? The psalms too, which David penned nearly three 
thousand years ago, — have not these " songs of Zion" had a posi- 
tive influence upon persons in all after times, by instructing them, 
and directing them, and encouraging them, as well as, consoling 
and blessing them ? But this far-reaching influence of these an- 
Gient men was no peculiarity of theirs which belonged to them 
alone. No : — your conduct, by its necessary influence, will have 
a similar connexion with all future generations, — whether the con- 
duct be good, or bad. Your good example, for instance, (if your 
example be good) will be handed down to your children ; they 
will hand the same example down to theirs ; and so it will be 
rolled along from generation to generation, to the last day of time : 
when it will roll back upon you with blessing upon blessing. In 
like manner, — your evil conduct (if it be evil) will be transmitted 
to the following generation ; they will pass it on to the next ; and 
so it will proceed on, swelling in its pernicious influence as it goes 



JOS THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 

forward from age to age, — like a billow of the ocean rushing, and 
rising to the shore ; — till the curse of your conduct reaches up to 
the judgment day : — when it will be rolled back upon you, from 
whom it first started, — with all the accumulated guilt, gathered in 
its course through all the successive generations. You are social 
beings, inseparably connected with others, on whom your actions 
will necessarily have an influence, either positively or negatively. 
You are like persons at a fire, standing in a long continued line, 
handing on the water-bucket from one to another, till it has been 
passed through the whole rank. Now it is manifest, if one lets the 
vessel down, he lets it down for the whole company ! So, if you 
let a good example down, you, as far as your influence is con- 
cerned, let it down for all future generations! If you let down 
family prayer, you let it down to the end of time ! If you let down 
a profession of religion, you let it down to the judgment day. If 
you let down personal piety, — to the extent that others might have 
been affected by your pious example, — you let it down to the 
worlds' last day ! If you let down the cause, or care of souls, you 
let it down for every succeeding age of mankind. It is thus, 
through your social connexion, and the influence that connexion 
gives to your actions, with all the future generations of mankind, 
that you will be a blessing or a curse upon the world, as long as 
the world shall stand. 

This moral connexion between men of different generations has 
always seemed to me, to be the most convincing argument for a 
General Judgment. None are saved alone. None are damned 
alone. Hence, from the very nature of the case, no single indi- 
vidual can be judged by himself. He could not justly be, either 
acquitted, or condemned alone. Each of us have had something 
to do with the salvation, or perdition of others. We have, less or 
more, — by our example, or by our direct efforts, — contributed to 
the piety or the wickedness of our fellow beings. For this plain 
reason, it seems necessary, that, as all are thus implicated together 
by their mutual influence upon one another, all should be brought 
up together at last, that they may be judged together, according to 
the ascertained agency each has had in the others' well-doing, or 
ill-doing. 



THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 809 

The question then returns to us, — "Am I a light, or a shade to 
the world ? — A blessing or a curse upon my fellow beings ? — A 
helper, or a hinderer of the salvation of mankind ?" — All are aid- 
ing and abetting the salvation, or the damnation of the world ! 
There is not a person present to-day but does so : — on which side 
do you range ? Which side has your countenance and help? Are 
you helping to save, or to damn the world? Are you lighting men 
into the way of salvation ? — or are you decoying them on, in the 
error of their ways, to endless destruction? — Resolve, whatever be- 
comes of your own soul, you will have no agency, directly, or indi- 
rectly, in drawing others to perdition. 

Observe, 

(2.) This great question ought to govern all our lives, " Where 
can I be most useful ? Where will my light shine best?" Where 
you are the most useful to others, you will be most useful to your- 
selves, as well as the most secure for your own souls. Do not 
inquire, — " W T here can I get money ? — where can I have the least 
care ? — where shall I be most at ease ? — where shall I receive the 
most honor ? — where can I gain the most prominent position, and 
exalted situation ?" Ah ! christian, these, in comparison, are very 
small matters, — trivial concerns, — considerations that are hardly 
worth a thought ! The grand query that should always be upper- 
most in your thoughts, and that should be the first and most prev- 
lent subject of solicitude with you, is "Where shall I be able to do 
most good to others ?'■ And the reason for asking this question, 
and the reason for letting this same question govern all your lives, 
is this, — " Ye are the light of the world !" Observe, 

(3.) Take care that nothing impairs, or puts out, or lessens your 
" light in the world." Dread this as you would dread damnation 
itself! Avoid this as you would avoid the very gates of hell! Bad 
tempers, frivolous conversation, love of the world and the things of 
the world, an irregular walk, an unfriendly spirit, negligence as to 
the means of grace, defectiveness in the details and the transactions 
of secular life ; — each, and all of these will have such an effect. 
They, will severally and generally, do, what an extingusher does ; 
which, you are awaie, not only puts out the light ; but also leaves 
in the room an offensive odor. These failings will not only de- 



310 THE DIVINE INSTITUTION FOR SAVING THE WORLD. 

prive you of your power of doing good to others ; but will also 
make your religious profession a loathing to all around you. Take 
care therefore of your light ; — do nothing that will, in any measure, 
cloud, or extinguish, or diminish its full brilliancy. Observe, 

(4.) You only give proof of the reality of your character, so far 
as you are " the light of the world." This is the character of 
every genuine christian. God himself has invested all his believ- 
ing children with this character, by constituting them, specially, 
the instruments of salvation to their fellow-beings : and it is only 
w T hen, and so far as, you act in this character, that you substanti- 
ate the honesty of your profession of religion. — Some indeed talk 
upon this subject very unwisely. Persons may frequently be heard 
saying, — "Such, and such an individual, — I do think,- — is a good 
man ; though to be sure, he is not very useful. True, he does not 
instruct, nor train his family, in the w T ay of religion. Neither does 
he make himself useful in the church, nor in the sabbath-school; 
nor yet does he employ himself in any way for the spiritual benefit 
of his neighbors. But he is so quiet and inoffensive, — I cannot 
but think, he is, after all, truly a good man!" — What do I hear? 
"A good man!" and not useful! It is a positive contradiction in 
terms! — It is a complete solecism! — "A good man not useful!" — 
you might as well say, — "cold fire," — "bad good," — "black 
white!" — There can be no such thing: for if he be not useful, 
where is his goodness? — How differently God speaks! Says he, to 
his own people, — "I will bless you, and make you a blessing." — 
That is, — whomsoever are blessed with the experience of the sa- 
ving grace of God, thereby and thereupon become a blessing to 
others. — Talk then no more of "a good man not useful." It is 
as perfectly absurd, as to speak of, a drunken Christian, or a swear- 
ing Saint, or a wicked Believer, x>r a develish Child of God. — A 
man shows his goodness in his usefulness to others; and if he does 
not endeavor to be useful, he cannot be good: because in "the 
good cause," he who does not help, hinders ; — he who does not aid, 
impedes the salvation of mankind. — Resign all pretensions then 
to the christian character, — or set yourselves, in good earnest, to 
be useful to the souls of your fellow-beings ; because " Ye are the 
light of the world!" 



SERMON XI 



THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF THF FAILURE OF THE DIVERSIFIED AGEN- 
CIES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

'* But whereunto shall I liken this generation ? It is like unto children sit- 
ting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, and saying, we have piped 
unto you, and ye have not danced ; We have mourned unto you, and ye have 
not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, he 
hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Be- 
hold amangluttenous, and a wine-biber, a friend of publicans and sinners." — 
Mathew, 11 Chap. 16, 17, 18, 19, Verses. 

The Great Founder of Christianity was the most popular preach- 
er, that ever lived upon the earth. He was, in a superhuman 
sense, the perfect Orator. In his person, there was a complete 
combination of every thing, that could fix the attention, — fire the 
imagination, — or fascinate the hearts of mankind. — He pos- 
sessed the most commanding eloquence. His elocution had 
every grace that could charm, — every intonation that could im- 
press, — all the sweetness that could move or melt his hearers. — 
His manner* was singularly effective. To a dignity that deter- 
red all trifling and frivolity, he added a tenderness and pathos, 
that at once thrilled, and dissolved the sensibilities of the heart; 
and with a condescension and affability, which won the confidence 
of the most timid, he combined a decision, and an authority, that 
instantly arrested, and awed the most daring. — The novelty of his 
language and of his sentiments was as enchanting, as it was sur- 
prizing. His manner was not more impressive, than were his 
arguments convincing, and than his doctrines were astonishing. — 
When he reasoned on "righteousness, temperance and judgment." 
He held his auditors completely spell -bound with demonstrations, 
which admitted of no further controversy ; and when he began 
to divulge the doctrines peculiar to mV religion, the astounded 
multitude were absolutely electrified, both with the supernatural 



812 THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 

newness of these doctrines, and their heavenly sublimity. — Then 
what a life of profound piety towards God, and of perfect benev- 
olence towards man, was the life of Jesus! The eloquence, that 
he uttered, received almost as much of its power and effect from 
the maimer in which he lived, as from the talents he displayed. — 
His conduct was as unique and lovely, as his sermons were sublime 
and beautiful: — and his followers daily saw in his spirit,— in 
his temper, — in his actions, — a complete illustration of the prin- 
ciples, he taught in his powerful and fascinating discourse! In 
sketching a character so snpereminent, we are oppressed with a 
sense of the poverty of language in its most affluent terms; and 
for want of more adequate expression, utter a mere moiety of our 
unspeakable conceptions of him, when w T e say, "never man was 
like unto this man !" 

That a preacher, of whom all this, and much more than this, 
can be affirmed upon the surest testimony, should have been most 
popular, need excite no wonder. Constituted as human beings 
are, — with an inherent love of novelty; — with an intellect instinc- 
tive wilh a delight in eloquence; — with a number of passions ca- 
pable of easy excitement ; — it would have been little less than n 
miracle, — had not Jesus been followed and admired by multitudes. 
As might have been expected, — this Divine Preacher excited uni- 
versal attention wherever he went: — He was completely thronged 
in all his public engagements, with pressing crowds: — and myr- 
iads of enraptured hearers hung with delight upon his lips, when- 
ever he opened his mouth to preach ? In a little time the whole 
population of Jerusalem were drawn after him. Many, who came 
to mock and to persecute him, retired overwhelmed and delighted 
with his surpassing eloquence; and were compelled to confess, 
"never man spake like unto this man!" No sooner was his ar- 
rival in any particular place made known, than the whole neigh- 
borhood flocked together to hear him ; and crowds of people from 
every section of the country, constantly attended him wherever he 
went. The whole of Judea was up, — wrought upon by the un- 
wonted excitement of this extraordinary preacher: while his far 
resounding fame soon spread through all the known world, — not 
excepting the pavilion of the Roman Empire! 



THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 313 

There is however a vast difference between a good opinion of the 
character and talents of a preacher, and doing and feeling, as he 
directs. It is one thing, to admit and to admire the eloquence of a 
Public Teacher; but it is quite another thing, to practice his precepts 
and to copy his example. It is quite possible, to feel the fall force 
of oratory, both in its granduer and pathos; — and to have a clear 
impression of the mental and moral worth of the speaker: and yet, 
at the same time, to be quite averse to the Truths, which that elo- 
quence teaches, and to be utterly hostile to the performance of 
the religious duties,and pious exercises, which the example of that 
s peaker commends to us, and urges upon us. The music of the 
song may be sweet to the ear, when its subject is entirely repug- 
nant to the heart! The coloring and combinations of a painting 
may be pleasing to the eye; — its lights and shades, — its skillful 
touches, and design may be enchanting as matters of taste; — while 
the scene, represented in the picture, may be associated with the 
utmost antipathy of the mind. — Thus it appeared in the ministry 
of the most popular of Preachers! While all acknowledged his 
extraordinary powers of address, and not a few applauded the pu- 
rity and benevolence of his conduct; yet the number that became 
his practical Disciples, and his constant imitators, were exceeding 
small. Excepting a mere handful of insignificant and illiterate 
persons; — the thousands, that thronged around him, contented 
themselves, with extolling his eloquence, — with admitting the 
truth of his arguments, — with wondering at the novelty and sub- 
limity of his doctrines, — with gazing at his miracles, — or with 
seeing and speaking of the goodness of his conduct, and the benig- 
nity of his manners. During the whole course of his ministry on 
earth, the preaching of the eloquent Redeemer, — conjoined with 
the united labors of seventy Disciples, — did not secure more than 
about one hundred and twenty men and women, to practical obe- 
dience to his doctrines, and to be faithful followers of his footsteps ! 
By far the majority of those, who heard him, remained unaffected; 
except by the momentary impulse occasioned by his tender, or tre- 
mendous appeals : and they displayed no other change, in heart 
or life, than such an ephemeral excitement, and such an idle talk- 
ativeness, as are usually produced by seeing such a splendid pro- 
40 



314 THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 

cession, or by viewing a public pageant. They heard his sweet 
and sublime words; — they approved these words; — they admired 
them: "but they did them not!" 

It was the conciousness of this lamentable fact, that led the Sa- 
vior to pronounce the parable in the Text. Aware that his preach- 
ing had been of little practical use; and had done little more than 
please the fancy, or elicit the admiration of the multitudes, who 
daily heard him; — He asks, "But whereunto shall I liken this 
generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and 
calling unto their fellows, and saying, we have piped unto you, 
and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have 
not lamented." 

These words, in their original meaning, undoubtedly apply alone 
to the Jews, who lived at the time Christ w T as upon the earth. It 
would indeed be a great happiness to. the ministers of the Gospel 
in the present day, as well as to all true lovers of souls, could there 
be no other application of these words! But alas! we are com- 
pelled to be convinced, that the delinquency, which these words 
describe, was by no means confined exclusively to the ancient Jews. 
Many hearers, in our day, are precisely in the same case, and are 
hastening on to the same condemnation! They can appreciate, 
and applaud eloquence, when delivered from the pulpit: — they can 
dissolve with the melting tones and pathetic discriptions of the 
Preacher: — they see, and even acknowledge the justness of the 
reasonings, and the soundness of the conclusions of religious dis- 
courses: — but here they stop short! Their hearts are still averse 
to the truths exhibited, and to the practical consequences, which 
follow from the argument demonstrated : and while their tongues 
are prolific with praises, bestowed upon the Preachers, oratory and 
manner; their lives still remain as unaltered, as if they had been 
listening to discourses recommending the neglect of the soul, or 
as if a thesis had been pronounced to them, in favor of the rejec- 
tion of all religion! Like the venerable Prophet of other days,— . 
the minister of the Gospel, in this day, is compelled, with sorrow 
to declare, "Lo! I am unto them us a very lovely song of one that 
hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for 
they hear my words, but they do them not."— Or, like the Savior 



THIS PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE, 315 

he may deploringly inquire, "whereunto shall I liken this genera- 
tion?" — The words of the text describe, 

m - The varied means which God employs for the conversion of 
sinners ; 

The general inefficiency of the means employed ; 

The common cause of the failure ; and 

The absurdity of the conduct which occasions the delinquency. 

I. The varied means, which God employs for the conversion of 
sinners. 

These are indicated, not only in the different characteristic fea- 
tures of John the Baptist, and of the Savior; but also in these figu- 
rative expressions of the parable, — " We have piped unto you," 
and "we have mourned unto you." The same is intended, where 
the Apostle declares, " There is a diversity of gifts, — and there 
are differences of administrations, — and there are diversities of 
operations ; — but the manifestation of the spirit, in all these diver- 
sities and contrarieties of means, is given to each to profit withal." 
The varied methods, w T hich God employs for the conversion of sin- 
ners, — to which the parable alludes, — may be included under two 
particulars; — the different personal qualities and talents of preach- 
ers, — and the diversified subjects and strains of their discourses. 

1. The different personal qualities and talents of the preachers 
of the Gospel. 

This is suggested by the antithesis presented in the assertions, 
"John the Baptist came neither eating nor drinking;" — "the Son 
of 'man came eating and drinking." Mankind are not perhaps 
more divided in any one thing, than in their predilections for dif- 
ferent and opposite features of human character. The personal 
characteristics, which one individual admires, another despises, or 
dislikes ; while each prefers, what the other considers utterly re- 
pugnant. To suit this diversity of taste with regard to character, 
and by so suiting men, to prepossess them in favor of the Gospel ; 
the Divine Being has, in all ages, called to the ministry, persons of 
every kind, and of every peculiarity of talent and temperament. 
Some, in their constitutional characteristics, are distinguished for 
sternness, force, and austerity : others are remarkable for warmth, 
gentleness, and affection. One has hardly any of the glow of pas- 



316 THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 

sion, or the ardor of imagination ; but is all intellect, and stands 
pre-eminent for profundity of thought, and powerfulness of argu- 
ment : another has scarcely any affinity with abstruse thought, and^ 
hard reasoning, but is all sensibility ; and thinks, and writes, and 
speaks, in all the tenderness of feeling, and in all the persuasive- 
ness of love. The great Head of the church, by calling to the 
ministerial office persons so diverse in their personal qualities, 
intends thereby, to accommodate the various preferences of man- 
kind, and to indulge sinners with the communication of his 
revealed truth to them, by means of preachers suited to their own 
different natural tastes. The sensitive hearers have a preacher of 
their own cast in some Barnabas, a son of consolation ; while the 
phlegmatic have a corresponding character among the Boanerges, 
the sons of thunder! 

This was one of the various methods, which God provided for 
the conversion of sinners, at the first introduction of Christianity 
into the world. Never were persons more unlike; never was there 
a greater contrast in characteristic features, than between John the 
Baptist, and our Savior. John belonged to the class of austere 
men. Stern, — rugged, — reserved, — resolute, — uncompromising, — 
bold ! — he was fitted, rather to al arm, than to allure, — rather to 
convince, than to console, — to drive, rather than to draw, — to 
overwhelm with intimidation, rather than to win over to a cheerful 
compliance. Jesus, — on the other hand, — was of an amiable 
character. Gentle, as the lamb, whose name be bore, and affec- 
tionate, as the dove, which at his Baptism overshadowed him ; 
He was adapted to touch the springs of feeling, — to work upon the 
finer sympathies of our nature, — to seize upon the passions, — to 
lay hold upon the heart ; — his was, to pour into the laboring bosom 
the balm of hope, and the cordial of consolation, — to soothe the 
bleeding heart and to relieve the conscience-stricken spirit, — to 
call forth the dormant emotions of gratitude, tenderness, humility, 
and love ! How opposite were the peculiarities of these illustrious 
characters! In these two great preachers — by whom God first 
commended his love to us, — one would think, every feature of 
character had been provided, suited to the different preferences of 
mankind, and calculated to engage them with the saving truths, 






THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 317 

which these divinely annointed ministers, were commissioned to 
promulgate to mankind! "John came not eating, and drinking." 
He secluded himself from company ; avoided all familiarity with 
his hearers ; never appeared at their feasts — never partook of their 
hospitalities : but lived alone, in his solitary cell, in the sequestered 
wilderness ; and superior to all social enjoyments, — satisfied the 
cravings of nature with the coarse and scanty productions, that 
were to be found around his desert-dwelling ! All these peculiar- 
ities of John the Baptist, — one would imagine, — must have had a 
great effect upon his hearers, so as to make a favorable impression 
upon them in his behalf: since such a life, — so extraordinary, so 
austere, so self-mortifying, — has always, in all places, been re- 
garded with superstitious veneration by the generality of mankind; 
and in instances not a few, has constituted the ascetick person a 
saint in the estimation of others, without any thing besides to war- 
rant the title. — On the other hand, " the Son of man came eating, 
and drinking." He was social, affable, and easy with his hearers. 
He affected no peculiar rigor, or distant reserve in his manners ; 
but continually visited his friends, and became a frequent guest 
with both Pharisees and Publicans, at their feasts and suppers. 
Now it would be supposed, that such courteous kindness, and 
pleasing urbanity in Jesus would have succeeded, where the stiff- 
ness and sternness of John created feelings of distance, and dis- 
trust. At least, it might be expected, that, as these two preachers 
were so different in their personal characteristics, and therefore so 
suited to the opposite tastes of hearers, — one, or the other, surely 
would have been successful in the conversion of all the various 
kinds of persons, who heard them. But whatever might have been 
justly anticipated on this score ; — it is a Jamentable fact, that both 
these popular preachers, — so unlike, so good, — to a very consider- 
able extent failed in their ministry. Neither the unrelaxing se- 
verity of John, nor the winning gentleness of Jesus, could prevail 
with the men of their generation. Although so variously, and so 
suitably addressed, they persisted in their unbelief, and remained 
pertinacious in their iniquities, They heard "the words" of these 
two great preachers ; " but they did them not." Both the Baptist 
and the Savior, when reflecting upon the inefficiency of their min- 



318 THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 

isterial labors, were compelled, with regret, to exclaim, "Alas! 
Alas ! who hath believed our report !" 

O, how forcibly does this picture the conduct of many of our 
hearers in this our day ! How many of you are now acting out a 
faithful counterpart to this perverse, and obstinate conduct of the 
ancient unbelieving Jews! Our itinerating system, — including, as 
it does, a frequent removal and a continual change of preachers, — 
brings before our hearers, in course, every diversity of talent, ge- 
nius, and temperament, so as to accommodate the partialities of 
each, and of all : but what multitudes, though thus suited accor- 
ding to their respective differing tastes, have hitherto " received 
the grace of God in vain ?" How various have been your preach- 
ers! How variously have they appealed to you! Yet to how 
many of you all has been of no use ! The severe sons of thunder, 
and the mild ministers of compassion, have plied you, in turn ; — 
the gravity of the sage, and the florid eloquence of the poet, have 
addressed you ; — logic, and love, with all their moving powers, 
have urged you ; — the fiery torrents of hallowed indignation, and 
the gushing tenderness of melting pity; — "the sound doctrines" 
of the learned theologian, and the soft breathings of the sympa- 
thetic soul have been successively poured forth from the sacred 
desk, upon your " uncircumcised ears:" but in what are you at 
all altered ? What has been the use ? As to any real, practical 
change, in you, — may not all the ministers, who have preached to 
you, say respecting many of you, " Alas ! alas ! we have labored 
in vain, and spent our strength for naught !■" 

The various methods of Gods' mercy, for securing the saving 
reception of the Gospel, are further exemplified by, 

2. The diversified subjects, and strains of discourse. 

These are intimated by the expressions, " We have piped unto 
you," — "We have mourned unto you." The minds of mankind 
are acted upon by different means, and in different ways. Some 
are only steeled to a greater hardness by what is awful ; but they 
are easily moved by aught tender. On the contrary, others, of a 
cold phlegmatic temperament are quite insensible to the passionate 
appeals of affection ; and they can never be aroused from their 
mdiflerency and apathy, except by a grandeur, that is overwhelm- 



THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 319 

ing, and a terror, that is tremendous. Some bow at once before 
the gentle voice of beseeching kindness : others will not bend, 
until " the blast of the terrible one," " like a storm against the 
tottering wall," shall lay them low. To meet this difference in 
the constitution of human minds, by an adaptation of means to 
their characteristic diversities, the divine author of inspiration has 
made the contents of the sacred scriptures exceedingly diversified; 
so that on almost every page is to be found, all that is moving in 
kindness, mingled, and alternating, with all that is terrible in wrath. 
Now indignant justice launches out its anathemas ; and now yearn- 
ing mercy speaks of peace ? Here are tidings of encouragement to 
the docile, and obedient ; and here are denunciations of death to the 
wayward and incorrigible! Hence, the ministers of the Gospel — 
whose proper office is to expound and enforce the sayings of the 
sacred scriptures, — have, in the different subjects presented to 
them for their discourses by different scripture declarations, to 
dwell upon opposite extremes; — the extreme of all that is affecting 
in tenderness, and the contrary extreme of all that is tremendous 
in terror. This diversity in the strain and subjects of their dis- 
courses is here expressed in the figurative style of parable, by the 
contrary assertions, — " We have piped unto you," and " We have 
mourned unto you." The music of "the pipe" is soft, soothing, 
cheerful, animating, and delightsome : — hence it fitly represents 
those portions of the sacred volume, that are pathetic, conciliatory, 
charming and encouraging. "Mourning" is associated with what 
is gloomy and grievous, — the dark, the destructive, the dreadful, 
the distressing: — hence it is a suitable emblem of these scriptures, 
which are calculated to produce, — and which certainly predict, 
"lamentation, and weeping, and woe." Accordingly, when min- 
isters of the Gospel, in the faithful discharge of their sacred duty, 
have exhibited, and pressed upon you, both the cheering and the 
fearful sayings of the scriptures, — " the great and precious prom- 
ises," and the awful and peremptory threatenings of the word of 
God, — they may be said "to have piped unto you, and also to 
have mourned unto you." With all the touching tones of the soft 
breathing pipe, the ambassadors of Christ have presented to you the 
tender expostulations, and gracious offers of the Gospel ; and with 



320 THIS PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 

all the alarming sounds of lamenting woe, they have set before you 
the grievous " terror of the Lord." By these various methods Di- 
vine mercy has been seeking to induce you to lay hold on eternal 
life ;— by these alluring strains, and by these alarming voices, the 
God of love has endeavored to bring you to " a repentance unto 
salvation !" But, 0, in how few instances has he succeeded ! The 
mellifluent music of the Gospel has floated over you, like an empty, 
uncertain sound; and the soul-consuming woes of sacred writ have 
fallen upon your ear, like the harmless rumblings of distant thun- 
der, that disturbed you not ! Neither the promises, nor the threat- 
enings of Gods' word, have reached your hearts, or induced an 
alteration of your lives! " Ye are yet in your sins," though your 
ministers have long and often " set before you blessing and curs- 
ing," as pronounced by the oracles of truth ; and " after your 
hardness and impenitent hearts, you are still treasuring up to your- 
selves wrath against the day of wrath, and the revelation of the 
righteous judgment of God!" All the different means, by which 
God, through the ministrations of his word, has plied you to pro- 
cure your saving conversion, have been made utterly abortive by 
the perversity of your persevering negligence. This we shall next 
explain, by referring your attention to the phraseology of the para- 
ble, which indicates, 

II. The general inefficiency of the means employed. 

" We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced ; we have 
mourned unto you and ye have not lamented." — The literal signi- 
fication of this figurative language is, — you have not been suitably 
affected by the varied methods, which God has provided to pro- 
mote your salvation. The natural, corresponding effect, produced 
by quick, lively, and exhilarating music, such as that of "the pipe," 
is "dancing;" — mourning through the power of natural sympathy, 
unusually occasions a concommitant " lamentation." — For this 
obvious reason, — when the preachers of the Gospel are represent- 
ed, declaring to you, — "we have piped unto you, but ye have not 
danced ; we have mourned unto you, but ye have not lamented," 
the intention is, to declare in these words, — that their preaching 
has not answered its proposed end in your case ; — that your con- 
duct does not correspond with the teachings of these truths, which 



THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 321 

they have pressed upon you ; — that their tiding of peace to you, 
and their warnings of woe to you, have not had upon you their 
designed and legitimate effect ! — A small degree of reflection 
will show you the truth of this representation in your own case. 
It will at once be obvious to yourselves, that you do not exhibit 
either the joy, or sorrow, which the faithful preaching of the Gos- 
pel is calculated to produce. 

1. The Gospel, — which you have heard preached so often, and 
so faithfully, — has not produced in you its appropriate joy. — "We 
have piped unto you, but ye have not danced." — In the exhibition 
of the various truths of the Inspired Writing, you have had pre- 
sented to you subjects, which are calculated to excite incessant 
and unspeakable joy. The alluring invitations of the Divinely 
kind, and condescending Redeemer; — the merciful and untramel- 
led offer of pardon, peace, and eternal life to your guilty, hell-bound 
spirits ; — the conciliating overture of reconciliation with the offen- 
ded Majesty of Heaven, from whom your sins had separated you; 
—the gratuitous promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit to sanctify, 
and to beatify your polluted and unhappy souls ; — the God-pledg 
ed assurance of triumph over death, when heart and flesh fail, — 
and of a glorious resurrection, when death shall be done away for- 
ever ; — and the thrilling descriptions of the blessings and grandeur 
of the world of light and love : — O, these, these, are the themes of 
the Gospel Ministry; and surely they are themes, fraught with 
considerations, that ought to awaken supreme and never-ceasing 
joy, in the bosom of every one, who hears them ! — But have you 
not all heard these soul-cheering strains? — and yet what has been 
the effect? — In how few cases, comparatively, has the appropriate 
joy been displayed, in consequence of what you have heard from 
the Gospel? Alas! these evangelic strains, — sweeter in happy 
sentiment, than is the richest music in pleasant sounds, — have 
been heard by you without one stirring emotion! "The joyful 
sound" of saving grace, — which the Royal Psalmist "knew," 
and under the inspiration of which he "danced" before the ark of 
the Lord, — has not elicited one pulsation of joyous feeling in your 
bosom! "The good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all 
people," have been lost upon you! Salvation, — the salvation of 
41 



322 THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 

the Gospel, — 0, that cheering, charming sound! — in which uni- 
versal nature seems joyfully to sympathize, and at whose spread, 
prophecy pictures "the mountains breaking forth into singing, and 
the little hills rejoicing on every side," — has not woke up within 
you one movement of delighted emotion! As to all the saving 
purposes of the Gospel, when listening to its "joyful sounds," 
you have been as "the deaf adder, that refuseth to be charmed, 
charm you ever so wisely." " We have indeed piped unto you," 
but careless and insensible to the melody of our messages of love 
and mercy, — " ye have not danced." — Nay, more than this! 

2. The preaching of the Gospel has not produced in you its 
appropriate sorrow. " We have mourned unto you, but ye have 
pot lamented." — If the Sacred Volume contains matter for joy, it 
also embodies statements, which are fit subjects for deep " lamen- 
tation." It sets forth the pains and penalties, to which transgres- 
sion exposes the transgressor. It exhibits to us the malignity and 
turpitude of sin ; — the dreadfulness and the deceitfulness of its 
influence ; — the sorrows it begets here, and the more distressing 
consequences to which it leads hereafter. It displays to us the 
hatefulness of moral evil, and its extreme hideousness in the sight 
of God and of all holy beings. — These are the frequent topics of 
theS.iured Writings ; — they are the constant burden of the Chris- 
tian Ministry: and how calculated are such topics to awake that 
deep contrition for sin, which is a necessary preliminary to the 
reception of salvation ! Truly if aught can awaken sorrow, or 
may be regarded as a sufficient motive for its indulgence, it is an 
evil, that shuts heaven, — opens hell — makes Deity frown, — damns 
the souls, — defaces the images of God, — degrades the govern- 
ment of the Universe, — and spreads its creations of killing woe 
through an everlasting futurity ! The scriptures every where rep- 
resents sin to be such an evil, — so fraught with supreme mischief 
for time and lor eternity : — and such representations of sin, — it 
cannot be denied, — are entirely adapted to produce a deep and 
pungent sorrow in its concious subjects. But have these repre- 
sentations of Holy Writ had such an effect in your experience? 
Have you not heard them a thousand times without one single 
sensation of sorrow ? Have not the Ministers of God, week after 



THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 823 

Week, and service after service, for years past, set before you these 
scriptures which portray sin in all its exceeding sinfulness; and 
yet your stony icy hearts are unmoved still ? Has one tear of 
genuine sorrow ever yet diraned your eye?— or one accent of 
heart-felt lamentation ever yet escaped your lips? Alas!— alas! 
you have hardened your hearts against God.— against the word of 
his truth,— against his ministry of reconciliation. "We have 
mourned unto you," but unconcerned and unaffected,— "ye have 
not lamented!" 

Thus have all the means, which God, in mercy, has instituted 
to promote your salvation been made abortive by you. " Wooed 
and awed, — blessed and chastised, you are rebels still !" rebels 
against goodness and grace! — threatened and entreated,— still 
rebellious against the God of salvation! The Bible has poured 
forth all its treasures before you in vain! It has thrown within 
your reach the option of heaven or of hell; but it has excited 
neither your hope nor your fear! It has thrown open to your 
view the world of glory with its magnificence and blessedness; 
and it has uncovered to the trembling gaze, the abyss of perdi- 
tion, with all its withering woes of endless torment: but these 
disclosures have produced in you not the least ambition to realize 
the glorification of the one, nor the smallest solicitude to escape 
the damnation of the other. Ah! what fatal infatuation has seized 
you, thus to render nugatory all the various appliances of th e 
ministry of reconciliation!— Let us see,— 

III. The common cause of this failure of the various means em- 
ployed. 

What will solve the strange problem of your perseverance in 
impenitency and unbelief, amid so numerous, and so suitable in- 
strumentalities for effecting your conversion ? Why are you not 
saved ? How does it happen, that all the various means, which 
God has provided for reclaiming sinners to himself, and through 
which he has so long addressed himself to your understanding, 
conscience, and heart, have hitherto failed in your case? W T hy 
have neither the joy-inspiring, nor the sin-denouncing statements 
of scripture, — which you have heard so repeatedly from the sacred 
desk, — produced upon you their appropriate effects? Why are 



324 THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE, 

you not truly converted ? Ah! ye unprofitable hearers of the word, 
the answer to these queries is a simple one, but It is humiliating \ 
It is this, — " You have been like children sitting in the markets, 
and calling unto their fellows." As sportive youths, during recess 
at school, or when allowed an hour for recreation, are wont to 
meet together " in the market places," and similar localities, that 
afford open space for their movements, and engage for their amuse- 
ment in some playful exercise, or little diversion ; so you have met 
together in the house of God, and with such a spirit of levity you 
have heard the dispensation of the word of the Gospel. This, this 
is the only, the humiliating cause of your continued impenitency 
and unbelief! You have been under the preaching of the Gospel, 
as children are amid their trifling sports ; and because such has 
been your inconsistent demeanor, the preacher has preached in 
vain, — and all the music of the blessed Gospel, and all the wail- 
ings of the word of God have been lost upon you! In vain has the 
Deity addressed you, by different ministers, of various talents and 
personal characteristics. In vain has He spoken to you in the 
joyful strains of the Gospel, and appealed to you in the thunders of 
his threatened wrath! In vain have you been plied with means so 
diversified, and so suitable, to elicit from you the penitential sor- 
row, and the sacred joy, " which accompany salvation !" All, all 
have been in vain for you ! — because " you are like children sit- 
ting in the market places, and calling unto their fellows." 

That this is no libel upon your deportment under the dispensa- 
tion of the Gospel, will be clearly evident to you, if you will, for 
once, honestly consult your own consciousness. Do but consider, 
in what state of mind, and with what intentions you have hitherto 
sat under the teachings of the ministry of the Gospel ; and you will, 
without difficulty, discover, that it is but too true, that you have 
been like reckless children in their most frivolous pursuits. 

While hearing the Gospel preached, you have been " like chil- 
dren," 

1. In spirit. 

Frivolity, or trifling, is the spirit in which " children meet to- 
gether in the market places" for diversion, or play. On all occa- 
sions indeed children are too apt to be light, giddy, and trifling ; 



THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 325 

but in their common resort for their daily amusements, — when 
they meet together in numbers, and get excited by the stimulus of 
their sports, — their frivolity of spirit breaks through all bounds, — 
throws off all restraint, — pervades all they do, or say. This then 
is the temper of mind, which is here meant, when the unfruitful 
hearers of the Gospel are described, " like children sitting in the 
market places, and calling unto their fellows." The obvious rea- 
son why the preaching of the Gospel does not produce its corres- 
ponding effects in such hearers, as are "hearers of the word only, 
but not doers of the same" is, because they hear with a state of 
mind as trifling, or frivolous, as that of children when participating 
in some foolish game. They are as full of levity under the sound 
of the Gospel, as children are in their trifling diversions. To them 
the house of God has but little more sacredness and not much 
greater solemnity than the common play-ground has to children : 
they cross its hallowed threshhold, and they occupy its consecrated 
seats, without one sentiment of awe upon their minds, — without 
one emotion of seriousness in their hearts ! The services of the 
sanctuary, by them, are regarded little otherwise than as the evolu- 
tions of a pre-concerted play: — hence they go through religious 
exercises with a lightness and a flippancy, not very different from 
that in which children playfully perform their several parts in their 
accustomed sports ! The preaching of divine truth, to them, ap- 
pears much like the fictitious, formal colloquies, which children 
use in their games, as mere matters of rote, having no reality and 
no force, and employed only to fill up the parts of the play : hence 
there is no concern whether, or not the statements of the preacher 
are either heard, or understood; and no effort is made to recall the 
remembrance of them afterwards ! It is thus children play: — it is 
thus you have heard the Gospel preached. I challenge your con- 
sciences to deny, that yours has been this frivolous spirit, — this 
trifling temper, under the ministrations of the Gospel ! Can you 
aver before God, that you have entered his house with feelings, 
which, if expressed in words, would read, "How awful is this 
place ! surely it is none other than the house of God ?" Can you 
say in truth, that you have ever engaged in public worship with a 
state of mind, like that which made David cry out, "God is greatly 



326 THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE* 

to be feared in the assembly of his saints, and is to be held in rev- 
erence by all them that are round about him?" Dare you pretend 
to assert, that you have ever yet listened to the word of God in the 
full view of the solemn fact, that you are a dying creature who 
must soon launch away into the unbounded scenes of eternity? O 
can you truly affirm, that you have ever yet received the Gospel 
with the attention, and concern, which a message from the great 
eternal God demands and deserves ; — under a deep, realizing con= 
viction, that to disbelieve, or to disregard the word spoken is to be 
damned, body, soul, and spirit forever? You know, my uncon- 
verted fellow-beings, — too well you know, that the reverse of all 
this has been your temper of mind — your spirit, under the preach- 
ing of the Gospel ! Memory, at this very moment, confronts you 
with the fact, that a levity of spirit, a frivolity of mind, only to be 
compared to that of children while in their diversions, has always 
pervaded your bosoms, whenever you have presented yourselves in 
the house of God, or placed yourselves within hearing of the 
preachers' voice! Ah! — what means that simpering smile, too 
often to be seen, desecrating the vain visage of the thoughtless 
trifler, in the solemn sanctuary ? Why the vacant wanderings of 
the eye to every object, and to everyplace, but to the sacred stand, 
and to its heaven-sent oracle ? Wherefore these indecent whisper- 
ings, — this undevout ennui ? Whence is it, that you are taken up 
with the dress and demeanor of others, — diverted with every little 
incident, or accident, — all alive to any thing, or to every thing, 
except "the one thing needful?" If this is not the spirit of tri- 
fling, what is frivolity ? Could " children sitting in the markets, 
and calling unto their fellows," be in a state of mind more foreign 
to religious feeling, or less suited to the reception of the Gospel, 
than yours has been, when the servants of God have delivered to. 
you their divinely sanctioned message? Be assured, it is this spirit 
of levity alone, that has rendered abortive to you, all the diversified 
methods, devised by divine mercy to promote your present and 
eternal salvation ! 

When hearing the Gospel preached,— not only in your temper 
of mind have you been " like children ;" but also 



THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 327 

2. In intention. 

Children when they meet together, by concert, to engage in their 
diversions, have no other object in view than their own amuse- 
ment. The sole intention of all their playful exercises is amuse- 
ment. Whatever name may be given to them ; however arduous 
some of them may seem ; of whatever evolutions they may consist; 
these sports, or games of " children meeting in the markets," are 
resorted to, and participated in, for the sake of amusement, and 
for amusement only. Amusement, — unprofitable entertainment, is 
the one idea that actuates, — the exclusive and absorbing concern 
that fills the thoughts and that governs the movements of these 
play-fellows when they collect together in their accustomed places 
of diversion. Amusement ! — and what is the purpose, or intention 
of the majority of those, who are hearers of the preached Gospel? 
Is it at all different ? Is not amusement the principal, if not the 
only object of multitudes, in coming to the house of God, and in 
listening to the preaching of the Gospel, from sabbath to sabbath ? 
Is not their attendance upon the ministrations of Gods' word wholly 
induced by the inutile desire, to hear something to please the im- 
agination, — something to play upon the passions, — something to 
entertain their reasoning faculties, — something to pamper their 
intellectual taste? Alas! yes! — amusement, — though sought, it 
may be, from different sources ; — entertainment in some way or 
another ; — but still only amusement — is the exclusive purpose, the 
single pursuit, of a great proportion of the hearers of the Gospel ! 
Who does not know, that even in the hallowed sanctuary of the 
Most High, an entertainment may be found, as unprofitable, as it 
is incongenial with the place ; and that from the discourses of the 
divinely commissioned ambassadors of the cross, in contempt and 
contravention of the sanctity of their solemn embassy, there has 
been frequently sought, and furtively procured, an amusement alto- 
gether vain, and entirely irrelevant to religious purposes. An un- 
godly person may undoubtedly derive as much carnal entertain- 
ment from the arrangement, the ingenuity, the illustrations, or the 
eloquence of a sermon, as from the plot, the parts, the scenes, or 
the poetry of a tragedy! The same sentimental sympathies may 
be evoked by affecting descriptions, and pathetic representations in 



328 THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 

a church, as in a theatre, from the scenic suicides, the fictitious 
sufferers, the victims of violence, and stratagems, of a drama ! — 
The eloquence of the pulpit may afford the same mental pleasure, 
as the eloquence of the bar, or of the Hustings, or of the senate- 
chamber ! The clearness of an argument, and the completeness 
of a demonstration, may have the same effect upon an intellectual 
mind within the sacred precincts of a religious sanctuary, as within 
the walls of a lecture-room, or in the arena of a debating society ! 
Each of these sources of entertainment, to a carnal mind, will yield 
the same kind, and a similar amount, of gratification, in one place 
as well as in the other : — and thousands of persons repair regu- 
larly to the house of God, for no other purpose than to obtain an 
amusement, which they could fully as well procure in the theatre, 
at the bar, in a political meeting, or at the lyceum. lecture. Ten- 
der, tragic scenes every where excite pensive feelings, that are 
grateful. Eloquence, in any place, gives delight. Talent always 
takes hold of gratified feelings. Good reasoning— sound argument 
on any subject, and in every place, pleases a logical mind. Ele- 
gance of style and chasteness of elucidation never fail to secure an 
agreeable treat to persons of classic taste. For all these reasons, 
and for each of them, — a person may find his own Gongenial 
amusement in the pathos, the oratory, the talents, the ratiocination, 
and the refinement, of preachers of the Gospel, as well as in any 
one else. This secular entertainment, not only may be found, but 
thousands of individuals do actually, and constantly, and exclu- 
sively seek, in the public exercises of the ministers of Christ. An 
amusement of no moral advantage, from one, or the other, or the 
whole, of the sources now mentioned, is their end, their only end 
in hearing the Gospel preached. Are there not some, — are there 
not many who now hear me, — to w T hom these statements come as 
direct personalities? Has not amusements been your absorbing 
object, in seeking the sanctuary of God, and in listening to the 
preachers of the Gospel? If you had not a worse purpose in view; 
have you had any other intention, than a mere gratification derived 
from, some touching details of the preacher, or some of his splen- 
did imagery, or some novelty in his subject, or some acute reason- 
ing and intellectual acumen in his discourse ? Have you not thus 



THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 329 

trifled, like children in their diversions, when you should have 
prayed in an agonism of spiritual anxiety; and have you not 
sought entertainment, where you should have struggled for salva- 
tion ? 0, if this has been your only purpose in visiting the house 
of God ; do not wonder that you are yet without religion ! If with 
childrens' levity, you have, like children, sought merely pastime in 
the ministrations of the Gospel ; do not marvel, that you have neither 
the griefs, nor the joys which religion educes ! It is not at all unac- 
countable, that you are, as you are, unchanged, and unlikely to 
change! You have had your object indeed, in your expected 
amusement in the house of God; — and though this is far away, 
and far different from the proper object, which should have brought 
you to a scene, like this, so sacred, and so solemn, — you could 
expect no more ! You only looked for pleasure ; — you could not 
hope for profit ! You only designed to get amusement ; — you 
could not expect to secure salvation ! Entertainment was all you 
desired, or sought ; — it is in perfect accordance with your own 
purpose, that you will retire to your homes, unimproved, unregen- 
erate and unblest ! 

But observe, 

IV. The absurdity of the conduct, which occasions this delin- 
quency. 

Our Savior here asks, "Whereunto shall I liken this genera- 
tion ?" As if he meant to say, " Really I am quite at a loss for 
a suitable emblem to represent fully the supreme absurdity of their 
conduct, under the preaching of the Gospel. What image can 
adequately portray their superlative folly ? What simile is suffi- 
ciently derogatory to express such monstrous infatuation as theirs ? 
It is indeed hard to say, what "they are like:" — but in the ab- 
sence of a more humiliating comparison — for want of a more dispar- 
aging instance of consummate recklessness, — I compare them to 
frivolous children, in their most frivolous moods and in their most 
trifling moments!" "They are like unto children sitting in the 
markets, and calling unto their fellows." The folly of such triners 
with religion is too egregious to be named aright : — it cannot be 
expressed in human language : — it can only be read, and heard, 
in the shrieks, and groans, and burning tears, and heart-broken 
42 



330 THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 

sighs, and soul-tearing tortures, of that death of deaths, to which it 
directly conducts its infatuated victims ! 0, ye that are " sporting 
with your own deceivings;" — ye generation of amusement-seeking 
hearers of the Gospel, that pursue your pastime, where God has 
provided the means of your salvation; and trifle with souls immor- 
tal, when the vast option of life and death eternal is presented for 
your election, — whatjsuicidal sorcery, — what mischievous machi- 
nations have bewitched you! To seek diversion immediately be- 
neath the eye of the awful Deity, — in the special presence of that 
high and tremendous God, whose smile is heaven, whose frown is 
hell, whose word is doom, and whose flat will fix forever your fear- 
ful destiny! To trifle upon a message, which comes to you from 
the great Sovereign of the universe, bearing the impress of his su- 
preme authority, and armed with the sanctions of his overwhelming 
attributes! To think only of entertainment, w T hen there is at stake 
a soul, that can embrace in its boundless, endless capacities, the 
infinite good ; or sustain, upon its measureless, immortal energies, 
the accumulating weight of eternal woe ! To sport, where heaven 
may be won, or lost ; where destruction may be shunned, or insu- 
red ; — where everlasting life, or everlasting punishment is the only 
alternative ! To indulge in a spirit of levity, when the occasion 
maybe the critical crisis,— the very turning point, on which- is 
balanced, all that is desirable in happiness, or all that is dreadful 
in misery, and all forever, — unchangeably forever! O, to hunt 
after a fancy-flower to please the taste, when you might escape 
"the worm that never dies:" — to be engrossed with a mere into- 
nation of voice, or with a chime of words, when you might fit an 
immortal spirit for the full and final enjoyment of God : — to be 
taken up with the mere process of pro and con, when heaven in- 
vites you to its high home above, and hell yawns, ready to draw 
you down its dark, damning abyss ! to seek amusement in the 
spirit of trifling, amid such circumstances,— is conduct, which, for 
its surpassing absurdity, has no parallel, and which out-tasks all 
utterance ! Such Gospel triflers, if they " turn not from the error 
of their way," will at length find themselves in an unchanging 
state, where they will trifle no more forever ; but where they will 
become, on account of their superlative foolishness while in the 



THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF FAILURE. 831 

present world, a very by-word and a hissing to devils and the com- 
mon damned ! — the laughing stock of all hell to all eternity ! — the 
butt of ridicule, to which the finger of scorn will be sneeringly 
pointed by all the less guilty sons of perdition, who never had such 
advantageous opportunities to sin away! — while the Gentile sin- 
ners, that perished in their pagan darkness, will think themselves 
to have been wiser in their generation, and will reproachfully shun 
their society, as damned less despicable ! " Now consider this, ye 
that forget God ; lest he tear you in pieces,' and there be none to 
deliver. Whoso offereth praise," saith God " glorifieth me ; and 
to him that ordereth his conversation- aright, will I show my salva- 
tion." 



SERMON XII. 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE IN THE 
SOLEMNITIES OF THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

" Prepare to meet thy God, Israel." — 4 Chap. 12 Verse Amos. 

Of all the scenes and events described in the History of the Old 
Testament, — the most magnificent and solemn is that, in which the 
children of Israel met Jehovah their God, to receive immediately 
from him the moral law. Having freed themselves from the tyranny 
of Pharoah, and made safe their escape from the land of their bond- 
age, by leaving the Egyptian hosts, with their crest-fallen Chief- 
tains, submerged beneath the recoiling billows of the Red sea; — 
this pilgrim people, — a mighty multitude, were now encamped in 
the desert, around the declivities of Mount Sinai, — transiently res- 
ting a while in their journey to the promised land. As they linger- 
ed here, the God of their fathers sent a Messenger to them to cite 
them "to meet him" in the course of three days. This summons, 
as might be expected, spread through the encampment a universal 
alarm and apprehension. The whole multitude, in all their thou- 
sands on thousands, — the hero as well as the child, — the aged as 
much as the young, — the males equally with the females, — all Is- 
rael were at once seized with the most perplexing thoughts, and 
were agitated with emotions of deep anxiety. An interview with 
Deity like this, — so extraordinary, and so likely to result in such 
serious consequences to themselves, — would necessarily exclude 
from their minds all besides; and from its first announcement, 
must have been, to them, the one absorbing subject, which swal- 
lowed up all their thoughts and feelings, with its intense and en- 
grossing interest. During the interval that elapsed, between the 
sending of the summons and the set day fixed for this great meet- 
ing, — ordinary conversation, and their usual occupations, we may 
suppose, were entirely laid aside; while all betook themselves to 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 333 

make appropriate preparations for the coming of the awe-inspir- 
ing solemnity. Every succeeding hour, as it brought them nearer 
and still nearer to the grand crisis, wrought them up to a higher, 
and yet higher, pitch of excitement; till at length their agitating 
solicitudes became extreme. 

Nor did the feeling, excited by its anticipation, exceed the meas- 
ure of concern called for by the event. "When the day, appointed 
for this solemn meeting between Jehovah in person and the peo- 
ple of his peculiar care, did actually arrive ; — it was ushered in, — 
in the most astonishing manner, — with the most singular and sub- 
lime phenomena of nature. Mount Sinia and its vicinage exhibi- 
ted scenery of the most terrible grandeur. Its summit glowed in 
dazzling radiance; — incessant lightnings darted in fiery streams 
around its rocky sides; — its base, down to its lowest foundations, 
shook with the crashing peals of an unnatural thunder; — while all 
its deep, dark caverns, threw back, in sullen deafening echoes, the 
dismal noise. Over the surrounding wilderness, — that trembled 
palsiedly under the impulses of the stormy gusts, — there swept a 
hurricane "tempest," bellowing with furious roar, and breaking up 
every thing in its course, — rushing, raging, roaring, raving as in 
fearful strife. The adjacent rocks split, and the neighboring hills 
parted assunder, as the ground, on which they stood, heaved, and 
reeled, and tosssed, with the fast and frightful pulsations of an 
"earthquake." The air gathered into a thick darkness; — making 
a night at noon, and throwing over the whole scene an ominous 
twilight, tinged through all its somber shadows with a lurid glare, 
that shot down from the burning mount. — All nature was in com- 
motion, as if agitated at the expected appearance of its Maker. — 
Above, beneath, around, all seemed to be in terror, and amazement. 
What wonder, that the assembled multitudes of Israel were in 
amaze ! Almost paralyzed with fear at these strange sights and 
sounds, — the great congregation were standing in breathless sus- 
pense:- — when, lo! a scene surpassing all these preliminaries, 
quick breaks out upon their view. Suddenly the begloomed sky 
is rent open, diclosing a blazing pathway right up into the highest 
heavens: and down from "the excellent glory" in the heaven of 



334 THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 

heavens, along this spangle-strown course, Jehovah, in grandeur 
insufferably glorious, descended fall visible ; ten thousand times 
ten thousand fluttering cherubs trooping in his train. Sinai parts 
its smoke and flame to receive the Divine presence ; and resting 
upon its burning summit, He, the Great, the Terrible God, utters 
his appaling voice, pronouncing in the hearing of all the people, 
the stern and peremptory precepts of the Holy Law. So transcen- 
dantly terrible was the sight, that the assembled thousands of Is- 
rael fell flat upon their faces to the ground, overwhelmed with 
dread: — while Moses, the man of God, who had been previously 
admitted to intimate intercourse with Deity, was so intimidated, 
that he cried out, "I do exceedingly fear, and quake!" 

Grand and impressive, however, as was this interview between 
Jehovah and his ancient people ; — we, my hearers, are to have a 
future meeting with this same all-glorious Being, immensely more 
magnificent, and infinitely more solemn. Yes ! — " Our God will 
at length come to judge us ;" and we, unable to resist his sover- 
eign call, shall have to go out and " meet him !" 0, what a 
meeting that will be! — a meeting, that will be ushered in with the 
shout of the archangel, and the pealings of the trump of God ! — a 
meeting, that shall close with the wreck of matter and the crash of 
worlds ! — a meeting, that will wind up the eventful history of time, 
and that will commence the long, the everlasting annals of eter- 
nity ! — a meeting, that will fix our final destiny, and that will be 
followed by our unchanging doom! Tremendous meeting! Such 
is the interview, to which God, by his prophet, calls us in the text : 
"Prepare to meet thy God, Israel." 

Let us then fix our thoughts upon, 

The solemn interview, to which we are here summoned, and 

The requisite preparations, which it demands. 

The language of the text was originally addressed to the Jews. 
They were now in a state of apostacy and alienation from him, 
who had chosen them to be his people. To reclaim them from 
this apostate state, the God of their fathers had tried a number of 
different expedients. A long succession of prophets had been sent 
to them, to turn them from th e evil, and the error of their ways : 
and when these had invariably failed, He took harsher methods 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 335 

with them, and visited them, in judgment, with disease, war, and 
famine. All these attempts to reclaim them to duty, and to God, 
were entirely in vain. " Yet have ye not returned to me, saith the 
Lord," — is the complaint affixed by the prophet to every verse, 
which recites the different expedients used for their recovery and 
restoration. He thus had met them often ; but all in vain. He 
had met them in the persons of the several prophets, whom He had 
sent unto them. He had met them in each of the judgments, 
which He had inflicted upon them for their chastisement. In va- 
rious ways, and at divers times, He had met Israel beforetimes, 
but without success. They would not hearken to his voice; they 
would not regard his calls ; they would not return to him. One 
meeting more therefore is determined upon ; — another and a more 
decisive meeting is appointed ; — a final meeting is fixed, — differing 
immensely from all their past meetings, both in design and cir- 
cumstances ; — a meeting this, to be in the end of time and on the 
Judgment day, For this last, greatest, and most decisive meeting 
with their God, He here warns them to look forward and get ready: 
"Prepare to meet thy God, Israel." 

Nor they alone. We too, as well as these ancient Israelites, 
must meet our Almighty Maker in the judgment of the great day. 
For it is written " We must all appear before the judgment seat 
of Christ." Ah ! yes M" All !"— " All !"— must appear ;— " all" 
of every nation ; — " all" of every generation ; — " all" of every 
family; — " all" of every sex and age ; — " all," — " all" — and we 
ourselves, among the " all," must appear where, and when the 
Creator, and his creatures, shall meet in judgment. Let us then 
prepare for this great occasion : and that we may be advised of the 
preparations, which the exigencies of such a juncture will require 
from us, let us survey, 

I. The solemn interview to which we are here summoned. 

" To meet thy God." 

The meeting here intended is that public interview between 
mankind and God their maker, which will take place on the day 
of the general judgment, — at the grand assize of the universe. 
The certainty of this interview, — its circumstances, — its parties, — 



336 THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 

its purpose, — its personality, — and its final results, — will severally 
engage our attention. 

1. The certainty of this interview. 

It is absolutely unavoidable, and therefore inevitable. If aught 
be sure, this is most sure, that we must meet God, as our final 
judge. Certain, — unalterably certain, — divinely certain, to each, 
and to all, is this future, solemn interview with " the judge of the 
quick and dead." No art, no evasion, no stratagem, no excuse — 
nothing in heaven, earth, or hell, — can prevent this meeting be- 
tween mankind and their maker, when the judgment is set. Were 
it otherwise, — were this meeting not unavoidable ; few, if indeed 
any, of the ungodly race of man, would obey this summons from 
God, that cites us all into his presence. Ever since man became 
a sinner, mankind have all had a deep aversion to meet their Ma- 
ker. Our first parents, soon as they fell, sought to hide themselves 
from God; and all their descendents, true to their likeness to these 
first of our fallen race, have manifested the same disposition to 
shun, and to conceal themselves from him, who made, and who 
will finally judge them. Than this, nothing can give more con- 
clusive evidence of the fallen condition of mankind. Were man 
now, as he come from the Creators' hands, not only would he feel 
no aversion to meet his God, but he would need no command, — 
no, not even an invitation, — to induce him to meet him. That 
man needs at all an imperative summons to bring him before the 
great and good parent of being and of blessings, is presumptive 
proof that he has departed from primitive rectitude ; but that he 
should feel a universal and indomitable repugnance to such an in- 
terview, places the fact beyond all reasonable question or doubt. 
It is obviously, his sinfulness, that leads him to the aversion. The 
consciousness that he has sinned against his good and great Crea- 
tor, leads him to avoid the party offended ; lest, by placing himself 
in his presence, the transgressor should thereby expose himself 
directly and immediately to the consequences of the divine dis- 
pleasure. 

Yet what avails all this aversion to meet your God? Reluctant, 
as sinful creatures may be, to go to this final interview with their 
Creator ; — unwilling, as all are, to stand in the presence of Deity ; 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRAGE. 337 

averse, as you yourselves, do feel, to meet your God ; — meet him 
you must ! He, — whose will is law, — whose word is power, — 
whose decision is destiny, — has made this interview utterly inevit- 
able. His decree has gone forth, that at his bar all must appear ; 
and from that sovereign fiat, there lies no appeal, and there is no 
way of escape. Heaven and earth may pass away; but that word 
Divine, which has surely fixed this final meeting, can never fail. 
The existence of Deity is not more certain, — the throne of God is 
not more sure,- — the prerogatives of the triune Jehovah are not 
more secure, — than is our individual appearance in the presence, 
of God, on the great day of doom ! Nature itself fears this, — Rea- 
son confirms what nature fears ; — while Revelation makes it Di- 
vinely sure. 

Let nature speak on this behalf: — and what is its testimony? 
Consult natural conscience ; — and do not its frequent misgivings 
foreshadow the fact? Every one, at times, has had his secret 
fears, that he will have to come before God at last, to answer for 
his conduct in the present world : and these unprompted misgiv- 
ings, as to a coming judgment, are equally common, and as strong 
in those, who are far enough from being schooled in creeds, or 
sophisticated with the teachings of alarmist-theologians, as in 
those, whose education may be supposed to have originated the 
sentiment; and who, being thus free from all the prejudices of reli- 
gious tutorage, are as nearly in a state of nature, in this respect, as 
man can at present be found. What then is this but the simple 
voice of nature, foreboding a future judgment? Why should such 
fears arise in any man, if there be no future reckoning, and no 
final interview with God ? Whence did mans' nature derive such 
singular presentiments, if they were not implanted there by na- 
tures' God ? And would the God of nature, who is, and must be 
the God of truth, impart to his creatures wrong impressions, giving 
rise to mere baseless dreams, to disturb them, by deluding them 
with what was unreal and contrary to fact? No, it cannot be. 
These misgivings of natural conscience are the honest promptings 
of nature ; and in these nature speaks as with the voice of God, 
forestalling the certainty of every ones' appearance at the tribunal 

of God. 

43 



338 THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 

Next ask Reason; — and its decisions will confirm the fact, which 
conscience fears. The present is an indiscriminate condition of 
beinc. The providence of God, which is his government of man 
in this world, makes no difference in its dealings, between the 
good and the bad of mankind. " One event happeneth unto all 
alike." As are the wicked, so are the righteous, — as far as the 
present administrations of the divine government are concerned. 
But does the Divine being, — can He — look upon these opposite 
characters with an equal eye ? Are they, — can they be, both 
equally pleasing to him ? No, it is morally impossible ! — reason 
alone being the judge. As God is necessarily a good being, and 
is what He desires and delights to be ; He must love all, who are 
like himself — good i and by natural consequence, He must dislike 
all, who are bad, and who, for that reason, are unlike himself. It 
follows therefore as a certain sequence, that the good of mankind 
must be objects of his delight, and the bad of the human race 
must be objects of his displeasure. This being the case, — the 
question demands a reply, — will his preference for the good among 
men, and his disapprobation of the bad, never be made to appear? 
Will the infinitely good being, whom we call God, never do any 
thing to show distinctly of whom he approves, or of whom he dis- 
approves ? To suppose he would not, would be the height of 
absurdity. In the present life however God does not, by any act, 
or series of actions, of his providential administration, make that 
distinction between the good and the bad of mankind, which, from 
necessity of nature, he must make manifest some time. Hence the 
inference is inevitable, that that necessary difference of treatment 
between the good and the bad of our race, not now made, — must 
be made hereafter ; if God be true to his own nature, and is not 
guilty of doing violence to himself. The time must at length ar- 
rive, when by solemn and public acts, the Deity will demonstrate 
clearly to the view of universal intelligence, his different regards 
for the opposite moral characters among mankind. So clearly 
does reason assure us, that after death is judgment. 

Revelation sets its seal upon these deductions of reason ; and 
demonstrates them as certainties. If the scriptures ever be more 
decided, and more positive upon one subject than upon another — 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION 0F GRACE. 389 

they seem most abundantly so upon the certainty of this solemn 
event. No room is left for hesitancy, when we read in " the sure 
word of prophecy," — " We must all appear before the judgment 
seat of Christ." — "God hath appointed a day in the which he will 
judge the world in righteousness." — "It is appointed unto men 
once to die, but after this the judgment." — "So then every one of 
us shall give account of himself to God." — "God will render to 
every man according to his deeds." — " But the heavens and the 
earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved 
unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly 
men." These are a few, selected out of a multitude, of testimo- 
nies to this fact, which are to be found in the records of inspiration: 
what more can be needed? The individual, who is not satisfied 
with these, could not be convinced, were one to rise from the dead, 
affirming the fact ; and he must be left to doubt on, till the final 
tribunal starts into view, and flashes conviction upon his obstinacy 
with a scathing glare ! Be assured, my fellow beings, we shall 
certainly have to meet our God. This summons must be obeyed ; 
your appearance at Gods' great court must be made ; this solemn 
interview between you and your judge will take place ! However 
loath, or disinclined you may feel to comply, — resistance, or eva- 
sion will be impossible ! No power can prevent you from being 
dragged into his presence ; — no privacy can hide you from his 
searching eye ; — no plan can defeat his declared purpose. Were 
you immured in the deepest abysses of the dark unfathomed 
ocean ; his arm is long enough to reach down to its lowest depths, 
and thence to drag you into his presence ! Were you buried in a 
cerement of granite, beneath all the rocks, hills, and mighty moun- 
tains of the world, heaved up, and piled together, high as the 
moon, and broad as the circle of the earth ; — his hand is strong 
enough to dig through all, and to draw you up to the footstool of 
his throne ! Were you to flee from him with the rapidity that 
wings the morning light ; He would overtake you midway in your 
flight, and would instantly bring you back to his bar ! Had you 
removed from him far and remote, as hells' "outer darkness" is 
from the light and glory of heavens' everlasting hills, where he sits 
enthroned in his greatness ;— his glance would reach you on the 



540 THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 

farthest extremity of the universe, and, at his single nod, you would 
in a moment, be face to face with God ! Were Adams' whole 
posterity, in all their endless generations, and in all their untold 
millions, to form around your person in solid phalanx, that they 
might "hide you from the face of him that sitteth upon the 
throne ;" — a mere look from him would lay them all low on the 
ground, and leave you naked and bare to his immediate view ! 
Nay ! — were all the beings, thqt dwell in all the worlds of the 
wide creation, — the congregated population of this vast universe— 
to interpose themselves between you and the judgment seat ; — 
" He that sitteth in the heavens would only laugh" at their power- 
less opposition ; and in defiance, and in derision at their mighty 
helplessness, would break through their midst, and bear you 
through all their crowding hosts to his dread tribunal! Yes! yes! 
yes ! you must meet him ! Instead then of indulging your reluc- 
tance to meet your God, — since you must meet,- — so prepare for 
this inevitable interview, that when the time appointed arrives, you 
may lift up your head with joy, and triumphantly shout, " Lo this 
is our God ; we have waited for him : he will come and save us !" 

2. The circumstances of this interview. 

The scenes, that will be witnessed, immediately preceding and 
during this meeting with your God, will be such, for grandeur, 
sublimity and solemnity, as cannot be adequately described, or 
fully conceived. — At the opening of the great drama, — prepara- 
tory and introductory to this solemn interview, — a mighty arch- 
angel, the Herald of the Sovereign Judge, will descend from 
heaven to earth, "to prepare the way of the Lord," and to sum- 
mons the whole of the human race to come forth, that they may 
be ready to meet him, when He shall appear in his glory. How 
vast, how majestic, how dreadful, will be the appearance of that 
Arch-herald, — who can tell? Clothed in a vesture, more brilliant 
than the sun in all its summer splendor, — w T ith a radiance, dyed 
in all the beauteous hues of heaven, encircling his brows, — and, 
folding behind him his gorgeous wings, bedropped with spangles 
of living lustre, as he alights firm and stately upon our doomed 
earth; — He shall stand up, — raising his tall form, towering supe- 
rior to the high hills ; and stretching his ponderous hand on high, 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 341 

with one foot resting upon the subject sea, and with the other 
treading the cowering continent, — He shall swear in solemn maj- 
esty, "by him that liveth forever and ever," "Time shall be no 
longer!" — Dwellers of earth, — what words are these ? That oath 
how appalling! At the startling sound, all the dead will awake 
to a new consciousness, and all the living will be roused to sleep 
no more ! — I now anticipate the resurrection. — See how the 
ground moves, — and swells up, — and cracks open, and breaks 
into widening fissures, in every direction, from the stirring of the 
new-woke bodies of the buried dead beneath! Every hill, — on 
its every side, and over all its summit, — is upheaving its crum- 
bling soil, teeming thick with new-returned life. All the vallies 
are shaking, — rolling with an undulating motion throughout all 
their glades of green, — from the under-ground struggles of the 
reviving carcasses, covered with the grassy sods. Ocean too is 
agitated, — surging and bubbling over all its surface, as those en- 
tombed in its vast deeps, begin to gurgle upwards through its 
strangling waters. — Tremendous oath! — the dead have all heard! 
"Time shall be no longer." — But hark! — another sound pierces 
the ear! "The trump of God" pours forth, — shrill, — thrilling, — 
spirit-stirring,— its solemn call ; and its thundering tones peal 
from mountain to mountain, re-echoeing from valley to valley; 
and reaching out into distant space, bound from star to star, and 
roll on to creations' further side. .Again "all that are in their 
graves" have heard:— and now see,— "they come forth!" 'Earth 
casts forth her slain." "The sea delivers up the dead," that 
were in its depth. Lo! the land and the ocean are crowded with 
the rising dead! Every spot of ground is bursting upwards, and 
from the opening soil, is throwing out a living human form! Every 
part of the Ocean is ripling with the splash of rising bodies; and 
as its waters rush to the shore, rolls on every wave some long-lost 
individual to the land.— Now, the dead are all raised! They stand 
again upon the earth! They fill the far-spreading vallies,— clus- 
tering in one dense mass from their capacious openings to their 
most remote recesses! They cover the mountains,— down from 
their loftiest peaks to their lowest declivities! The continents are 
all full to their utmost bounds, with close-pressed crowds of hu- 



342 THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE* 

man forms! Every island, and each ocean-rock, of every sea, is 
crowded with the living of mankind, from the center to the surf- 
beat strand that girdles its shores! Not a solitary standing,— no, 
not a single foot of solid land, is there, upon earths' ample sur- 
face, from east to west, from pole to pole, unoccupied by man ! 
The world all over, is full of the risen dead! — 0,what a concourse 
and how impressive such a multitude! Millions on millions of hu- 
man beings will be in that innumerable congregation of the risen 
dead. Adam and Eve will be there. All their numberless posteri- 
ty, that have peopled the earth during thousands of years, will be 
there. Mankind from every clime, and from every country, will be 
there. All that lived in every age, and that composed every gen- 
eration will be there. The young, the old, and those who died in 
the prime of life, will be there. Every family will be there. — 
This congregation will be there. You, Brother, — and Sister, you, 
will be there. Ah ! — yes! — and there, in that countless throng, you 
will meet your God ! There, before that multitude, which no man 
can number, you will have to pass your final account! There, in 
that immense assembly, — with millions of eyes upon you from 
earth, and millions more of eyes upon you from heaven, — with the 
concentrated gaze of Deity, angels, devils, mankind, and all the 
assembled inteliigencies of all worlds, fastened upon yon, — you 
will stand before the Judge of quick and dead! — Overwhelming 
multitudes! In the presence of "so great a cloud of witnesses," 
"can your hand be strong, and your heart endure in the day when 
he deals with you?" "When this great and terrible day of his 
wrath is come, who shall be able to stand?" 0, to be detected, 
and to be doomed, — to be tried, and to be damned, before a con- 
course so vast, — how dreadful the thought! What is a public ex- 
ecution, — what is it to suffer the penalty of capital crime by the 
common executioner, in the presence of the assembled population 
of our largest cities, — compared with being cursed and consigned 
to hell, before the millions on millions of spectators, that will look 
upon you, when you meet your God! — May you indeed find mer- 
cy in that day! 

These introductory scenes of this great day being over, — they 
will be followed by others, still more awfully surprising, and still 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 343 

more transcend antly sublime. The preliminary arrangements to 
this grand interview finished, — the preparations for this great so- 
lemnity being completed ; — all the millions of mankind having 
been brought forth from the graves of earth and the caves of ocean, 
and marshalled in proper position to witness the divine pageant — 
" then will be seen the sign of the son of God coming in his 
glory." The supreme potentate, arrayed in all the solemn ensig- 
nia of "Judge of all," is about to make his second entry, with 
surpernal pomp, among the inhabitants of our globe ; and the 
indications of his near approach will arrest the attention of all. — 
" Behold he cometh !" High in the eastern sky, the thick gloomy 
clouds are beginning to break away. A bright spot, — dim and 
small at first, but enlarging and growing brighter every moment ; 
shows through the opening gloom. Presently the spot -like bright- 
ness, by its rapid radiations, becomes a wide-spread blazonry of 
fiery splendor covering a third part of the heavens. The dazzling 
radiance moves onward and downward, and is drawing nigh, and 
still nigher to the earth. As it approaches, a form appears in the 
centre of the glory ; and another, and nearer view shows the form 
to be glorious surpassing all thought. Encircled with coruscations 
of insufferable brightness, He himself glows with a burning bril- 
liancy more intense than them all. He rides in sublime state. 
His wheels roll in fire. Ten thousand times ten thousand angels, 
cherubim, and seraphim are about him, or follow in his train. His 
robes of lucent white glisten with an excessive lustre, that conceals 
the inferior glories of the sun shining in his strength. "On his 
head are many crowns," spangled all around with gorgeous gems 
of living light, and inwrought with characters of glowing grandeur 
to express the ineffable name. In his hand, grasped and ready for 
execution, are the blasting shafts of his wrath. Beneath his feet, 
the couching clouds are " as coals of fire," — transfused with the 
flame-hues reflected from the Sheckinah above them. Before him 
are borne, by supporting cherubs, the prodigious books, in which 
stand chronicled the deeds of men. " Who is like unto the Lord? 
who among the sons of the mighty can be compared unto him ?" 
" Let the world stand in awe of him!" " This is the king of glo- 
ry!" Himself in the front, — He leads on a long procession of 



314 THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 

illustrious attendants, reaching as far back into the heavens, as the 
wondering of eye can follow, — all shining with immortal splendor, 
and coming on like a flowing stream of living glory. Arrived 
within the limits of the lower atmosphere of the earth, — the super- 
nal parade stops. The judge supreme descends from his chariot 
of state to open the grand assize. A great white throne, — the un- 
sullied emblem of his infinite purity, whose seat it is, — appears 
high in the air, — full in the view of all. Ascending the august 
tribunal, — the dread Arbiter of human destiny now assumes the 
throne of judgment. The pale multitudes beneath look up in si- 
lence. Panic stares through every eye : — suspense holds in the 
panting breath. A moments' pause : — then the stillness is bro- 
ken ! A loud and strong voice, — stern and sonorous, — cries, — 
" Come to judgment, — come each, — come all, — come away!" — 
Thus shall it be, O mortal, when thou shalt "meet thy God." 

3. The parties in the interview. 

Thee and "thy God," — my hearer, — are the parties that are to 
meet in this solemn and decisive conference. Verily it is none 
other than "thy God," that charges thee to meet him! "Thy 
God!"— child of the dust;— "thy God!"— O thou, but of yester- 
day;— "thy God!"— thou rebellious child of man:— it indeed is 
"thy God," that seeks this interview with thee! Dread Being, 
how shall we dare to meet thee? How can we look thee in the face 
and live? The fear of man too often brings a snare upon us; but 
if we thus tremble and stumble before a poor frail mortal, no grea- 
ter or more puissent than ourselves;— O how shall we appear be- 
fore our God ? Had we been required to meet an angel face to 
face, as were some in former days, we should, like them, no doubt, 
have been "troubled and sore afraid;" but it is more than angel 
we have to meet with;— with one infinitely above all creatures, or 
created beings, are we compelled to have an interview! "Thy 
God," man, — "thy God," woman, — will have thee meet him, 
"Thy God!"— the God that created thee; — that fashioned thy phy- 
sical frame,— that breathed into existence thy deathless spirit.— 
"Thy God!"— the God that has preserved thee ;— that has hither- 
to shielded thy life, and kept all its complicated enginery in motion. 
" Thy God !"— the God that claims thee as his own ; — that will 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 345 

Judge thee when you meet, and that will render unto thee accor- 
ding to thy deeds. This God, — " Thy God," demands a future 
interview with thee, frail mortal! — "Thy God," how unsearch- 
able is his greatness ! Glorious in majesty is He, beyond all ex- 
pression, — above all thought ! The universe is full of his glory. 
All that is immense, or gorgeous in every part of creation, is but a 
faint emanation from his own uncreated, and unequalled grandeur ; 
as a solitary scintilation from that infinite of glories, that ray around 
his august person with a magnificence insufferable. He fills the 
throne of the universe, " high and lifted up," and looks abroad 
through unbounded space, which his omnipotence has crowded 
with mighty worlds, as the territory of his own undivided, and un- 
changing empire. The greatest and most dignified of created 
beings realize their bliss in doing him homage, and sink down 
enraptured and overwhelmed before the presence of his majesty. 
Day and night, without intermission, He sees at his footstool a host 
innumerable of lofty intelligences, bowing with their radiant 
crowns in the dust, and veiling their faces with their wings in pro- 
found adoration. All worlds, — as they pass beneath his throne, — 
do him obeisance :— the entire universe is vocal with his praise ! 
This is the God, — " thy God," thou shalt meet. How fearful are 
the attributes ascribed to him ! His omniscience penetrates the 
most hidden secresy: his power naught can resist: his justice is 
inexorable : his wrath is " a consuming fire :" he is " glorious in 
holiness :" of his dominion there will be no end. To meet such a 
God, how appalling! — that God, to whom all our most private 
thoughts are naked and open ! — that God, whose justice exacts the 
uttermost item of its dues ! — that God, who is " able to cast both 
body and soul into hell!" Yes! this is the God,— " thy God," 
thou must meet ! 0, what wonder, that in the immediate prospect 
of meeting a being so awfully great, men should " call to the 
mountains, and rocks to fall on them, to hide them from the face 
of him that sitteth upon the throne!" Well may puny, sinful 
mortals shrink from such a presence ; — since " from before his 
face, heaven and earth, will," at his coming, "flee away!"— 
" Thy God," man,—" thy God," woman ;— who ?— what is 
"thy God?" He is "a Spirit," — the one uncreated, infinite, 
44 



346 THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 

eternal Spirit ! " The father of Spirits," — the former of spirits, — 
the greatest, the most powerful, and the most fearful of spirits, is 
He ! How overwhelming the idea, that you must at length en- 
counter the Infinite Spirit ! When a human spirit, disrobed of its 
clothing of flesh, has been, or has been supposed to be, seen in an 
apparition, — what impressions of terror has it left upon the 
qualing mind ! and what agitations and alarms are awakened by 
the remembrance! Were any of you certain of seeing, before you 
this day reached your homes, the apparition of a spirit, in no way 
different from your own, except in its being disembodied ; — how 
would you feel in the prospect ? Would your courage receive no 
shock? Would you dare to enter into the presence of the spectre? 
Would you not flee the encounter? There is however a spirit, 
you must meet ere long; that awful Almighty Spirit, that infinitely 
transcends all others, — the Supreme Spirit, — " thy God," sin- 
ners : — and can you meet him, the Infinite Spirit, without fear? 
Will not his appearance confound you? Will you be able to stand 
unmoved and unapprehensive in his presence ? surely, surely, 
"thy God," the spirit infinite, is greatly to be feared! 

4. The purpose of this interview. 

Why are you so to meet your God ? For what purpose are you 
to have this solemn interview? Is it to be merely a meeting for 
ceremony or compliment? Is mere parade, and nothing more than 
display, intended in this final interview with your Maker? no! 
for a very different purpose is this meeting appointed, — a purpose, 
in comparison with which, all o'hers are inexpressibly trivial, and 
insignificant ! The Sovereign Judge cites you to this interview, 
that he may examine into your conduct during your present term 
of probation, and that he may award to you according as your 
works have been. This meeting is for judicial purposes, — for a 
legal inquest ; that your character and practices may be tested by 
the requirements of divine law ; and that your delinquencies may 
be visited by the penalties, which that law denounces. In this 
interview, " the books are to be opened," — the books of the Law, 
and of the Gospel, which reveal to you, your duty and your dan- 
ger; — what God requires, — what your souls need, — and what will 
be the fearful consequences of disobedience and neglect. " An- 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF ORACE. 347 

other book also will be opened," — the book of Gods' record of your 
conduct ; where your actions are all written down ; where your 
thoughts are all chronicled ; where your dispositions are all delin- 
eated ; and where your motives, in every act of your life, are all 
noted in distinct detail ! Yes ! it is even so. It is written, — and 
so it will be, — you shall be judged according to the things written 
in the books." Ah! to what a sad review you will be compel- 
led, when you are confronted before God with the records of these 
unerring, incontrovertible "books!" What must be your alarm, 
and what your apprehensions, when the stern voice of the solemn 
judge demands, "give an account of thy stewardship?" man, 
give an account of, thy talents, thy time, and thy obligations! — 
Give an account of, thy blessings, thy mercies, thy privileges, thy 
opportunities, and thy advantages ! Give an account of thy ac- 
tions, thy words, thy thoughts, thy tempers, and thy motives ! — 
Give an account of thy duties, thy experience, and thy hopes ! — 
Give an account of thy days ; thy nights ; thy sabbaths ; thy end! 
"We must indeed every one of us give an account to God." 
" For every idle word you speak, God will bring you into judg- 
ment." Your "every work God will judge." "He has ap- 
pointed a day in which he will judge the secrets of all hearts." 
who shall be able to stand in that strict and stern inquisition ? 
Can the guilty escape detection ? Can they evade the searching 
scrutiny, or extricate themselves from the retributive condemnation 
of that tribunal, where all must appear, and be put on their trial 
before the Great Supreme ? How can they escape ? A cloud of 
witnesses will confound and convict them! All in heaven ; many 
on earth ; God himself, angels, and their fellow men, will be 
"swift witnesses against them." Each of the persons of the tri- 
une Godhead; the Father, the Son, the Spirit, will declare what 
he severally has done for them. Angels will enumerate their min- 
istrations on their behalf. Ministers of the Gospel will testify how 
they warned and exhorted them. The Church will put in the 
record of its services, — its counsels, and its prayers for their salva- 
tion. Conscience will approve its fidelity, by recounting its twice 
ten thousand, of despised warnings, of resisted reproofs, and of 
rejected calls. Providence will produce its annals, exhibiting its 



S4B THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 

long series of blessings abused, of opportunities neglected, of ad- 
monitions disregarded, of privileges perverted, and of gifts unem- 
ployed, or worse than wasted. All creation will be brought for- 
ward to attest, that none of its useful agencies were wanting in 
their services. With so many, and such evidences of guilt, "who 
shall be able to stand," when God and you meet in judgment? 
Will you ? 

5. The personality of this interview. 

Singly and alone you must meet your God. Not in company ; 
not surrounded by associates, companions, or friends, will you 
have this interview with "the most high God ;" but by yourself. 
There will indeed be an immense crowd of lookers on, as specta- 
tors ; but an invisible power will single you out individually, and 
will separate you from the innumerable assembly,— and you will 
be placed face to face with your God, alone, and solitary ! The 
interview will be strictly personal. While the trial of your case 
lasts, — you will occupy alone the stand before the judgment -bar ; 
on you alone, the eyes of the Judge will be fixed ; — your history 
will alone be upon the page where " the books" are then " open- 
ed;" and yours will be the judgment. It will then seem to you, 
as if " this day of dread decision" had ben appointed for you only. 
You will feel then, as if yours had been the only case to be at- 
tended to, and decided. Surrounded by millions of human beings, 
like yourself, — you will, by a concentration of your thoughts and 
feelings upon yourself, — completely isolate yourself from all; and 
you will think, and feel, and act, as if you were the only being in 
the universe, on whom God had fixed his gaze, — for whom the 
judgment was set, — whose conduct was under judicial investiga- 
tion. Utterly absorbed in the decision of your own case, through 
the principle of self-love now become extreme, — you will meet 
God, as though none but you had to meet him. Compassed about 
with countless crowds ; — you will seem, in your own conscious- 
ness, to be solitary. With a multitude, that no man can number, 
pressing around ; you will feel, as though your own self and God 
were the only beings within the bounds of creation. You will, — 
for the time being, — see none but God and yourself; — think of 
none but God and yourself; — you will care for none but God and 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 349 

yourself. A single, lone, separate creature, away and aloof from 
all besides, by means of a self-detaching abstraction of feeling and 
of thought, — you will seem to yourself, as if all the phenomena, 
and all the proceedings of this great day, had you for their mark ; 
and that in your personal interview with the Almighty, all that is 
sublime and awful "in the terror of the Lord" had their sole, and 
entire consummation ! My hearers, endeavor to make this critical 
situation your own, by a present, personal realization ; and in 
what an agony of suspense, — in what a turbulence of trepidation 
must it involve you ! Alone, — immediately beneath those eyes, 
that are as a flame of fire; — alone before that Infinite Deity, in 
whose unveiled presence archangels fall to the ground ; — alone, 
upon the footstool of that "great white throne," whence doom, 
and destiny proceed : — Great God, what circumstances are these ! 

6. Finally. — The results of this interview. 

When you and your God have met in judgment, — what will be 
the consequence ? — The sequel of this solemn interview will de- 
pend altogether upon your previous life, and the character you are 
then found to sustain. Having passed your account with God, 
and a final decision having been made upon your case by the 
Sovereign Judge, — a sentence, in accordance with that decision 
will forthwith be pronounced upon you, and will, without delay, be 
carried into execution. If, upon reviewing your past history, your 
conduct is approved, and your character is accepted, by the Great 
Arbiter of human destiny; — if it is made to appear from "the 
books opened," that you have persevered in "a patient continu- 
ance in well-doing, seeking for glory, honor, and immortality;" — 
there will at once be awarded to you "eternal life:" and with re- 
joicing angels, you will be dismissed "to enter a kingdom," great, 
glorious, and everlasting, — "reserved in heaven for you," and all 
who, like you, have made their calling and election sure. There, 
in perfections' clime, amid scenes of bliss, which know no alloy, 
and arrayed in splendors, which no thought can picture, you will 
"reign with Christ," sitting with him on his throne, unspeakably 
blessed forevermore. — On the other hand, — if after a full and fair 
trial, your character and conduct will not pass, — alas! — alas! how 
dreadful will be the issue of this interview of yours with your God! 



350 THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 

In the passage of scripture which, in such a case, describes the 
result, every word seems to strain and to labor with a prodigious 
weight of dreadful meaning, where we read, "These shall go 
away into everlasting punishment." — my soul, what words are 
these! "They shall go away" — ah! what does that mean? — "go 
away!" — from whom? — from what shall they " go?" — "Away"— 
from God, the great, the good, "they shall go," — aliens from his 
love, and hence-forward exiled from the bliss of his smile. "Away 
from all holy and happy beings "they shall go," — shut out from 
their society, and placed beyond their offices of kindness forever. 
"Away from mercy and hope, and grace, and salvation, "they 
shall go,"— ruined past recovery. From these, all these, " they 
shall go away."— Departing "away" from these, — ah! whither 
shall "they go?"--to what shall "they go away ?"—" Away," 
into " outer darkness," they shall go ; — " away," into " weeping, 
and wailing, and gnashing of teeth," they shall go;— "away," 
"body and soul into hell," they shall go. — my God, how long? 
Into scenes of so complete wretchedness, how long " shall they go 
away ?" How long shall they travel on,— in this midnight of mis- 
ery, — through these regions of retribution, — under the pressure of 
this poignant woe? how long? — A sound comes booming up 
from beyond the boundary of time,— dismal and scathing as the 
blast of a simoon,— -to give the answer : " Away"—" away" — 
"away," — "ever away" — " away everlasting."* 

"The last day" will be, in many respects, a season of singular 
interest. It will be pre-eminently a day of unions, and of separa- 
tions. Many will be the meetings, and as many the partings on 
that day. God and his creatures will then meet:— angels and men 
will then meet :— friends and foes will then meet :— dwellers in 
distant lands will then meet :— the wicked and the righteous will 
then meet :— parents and children will then meet :— relations and 
associates, long lost to each other in the silence of the grave, will 
then meet :— and before all these meetings, body and soul will 



* The original is a word compounded, or formed by uniting together two oth- 
er words ; — the first term meaning " always," — the second signifying " being," 
so, when combined, as in the original of this passage, they must mean "always 
being,"— or "everlasting." 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 851 

again meet on that day. But this "last day" will not only be a 
day of meetings, — of re-unions, — of rencounters, and of remark- 
able interviews : — it will also be a season of sorrowful seperations, 
and of sad farewells. There will be partings that day, — painful 
partings, — partings between those, who once loved, and were link- 
ed together by the closest ties; — partings between such, because of 
their opposite characters, and, in consequence, their widely differ- 
ent destinations ;— these being conducted to "the eternal life" of 
the world of undying bliss; while those, "driven away in their 
wickedness," "shall go away into everlasting punishment." This 
is undoubtedly the language of separation, expressive of the sever- 
ance of those, who were previously together, and the removal of 
the parties mentioned the one from the other. "They shall go 
away" from each other, destined to different states, and departing 
to separate and distant destinations. Ah ! how my bosom throbs 
at the thought, — " how will they go away !" — The father and 
his first-born will then part : — the pious son being about to rise 
to heaven ; — while the wicked parent, turning toward the world of 
woe, " will go away," groaning out a last, an eternal farewell to 
the son of his love ! The mother and her suckling babe will then 
part : — the unsinning child being caught up by loving Seraphs and 
carried in their fond embrace to the palace of God ; while the un- 
converted mother " will go away" to dwell at an everlasting dis- 
tance from that sweet soul, the dear darling of her bosom, on 
whose soft smiling face, she will look no more, — no never! — no 
never ! Children and parents will then part : — the good old man 
and the sainted mother taking their departure for their high home 
in heaven ; while their ungodly sons and daughters, hurried on, by 
an irresistible doom, from the left hand of the great judge "will go 
away," leaving forever the kind authors of their being, and the 
tender conservators of their helpless infancy and of their unguarded 
youth ! Brothers from sisters, and sisters from brothers will then 
part ; — those suckled at the same breast, nursed on the same lap,, 
and rocked in the same cradle will then separate : — the pious rel- 
atives being sent away, to enter "the kingdom" of glory, "pre- 
pared from the foundation of the world ;" while their irreligious 
kindred, with a blasting reproach burning upon their hearts, " will 



352 THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 

go away" to be eternally beyond that " great gulf," which is per- 
manently "fixed," and which never can be repassed to reach 
again the society of their relations in glory ! Bosom friends will 
part ; — those whom love and friendship had, on earth, made one, 
in soul, and sympathy, and social bonds, will part : he that served 
God in his day and generation, now will go up to receive his re- 
ward in the glory and blessedness of the celestial paradise ; while 
his unhappy friend who remained through life an enemy to God 
and to his grace, " will go away," to lament, with unavailing 
tears, the utter loss of joys and seasons, never, never to return ! 
Husbands and wives will then part : — -those, whom wedded love 
had endeared each to each, with so strong and so tender an at- 
tachment, and who, for many long years, had so affectionately 
shared in each others cares and joys, will then part : — the religious 
wife mounting, on glad wing, to the mansions of heaven ; while 
her unbelieving and unholy partner, sobbing a sad adieu, "will 
go away," to make his changeless home in hell. Ministers and 
their hearers will then part : — the herald of the cross going away 
to wear his fadeless crown, in the presence of his approving Lord ; 
while the disobedient and unbelieving of his former hearers " will 
go away," cursing themselves, and accursed of God, to be shut up 
in that world of dismal despair, where no tidings of love and mercy 
ever find way to the wretched! — Alas ! alas ! even so will it be. — 
All, who love not God and are not the subjects of his saving grace, 
will thus " go away," leaving forever all that they once regarded 
with affection, or with admiration :• — and when they depart, and 
while they are "going away," — who can tell, what haggard looks 
what scalding tears, what burdened sighs, what bleeding hearts, 
what bitter cries, what chilling shrieks, or what maddened wail, 
will mark their going away ? Angels will look down in sadness. 
Nature will pause aghast. Eternal goodness will grieve to behold 
them " going away !" 

Wretched wanderers into eternal banishment! To give more 
dread to their most dreadful passage, — soon as they set out "to go 
away" on their itinerancy of endless woe, — the final catastrophe 
of nature will come on, in the total disruption of the planetary sys- 
tem. As with heavy and reluctant step, they start ofT"to go 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 35$ 

away," — suddenly the sun shall become dark to shine no more ; 
the stars of heaven shall dart from their proper spheres and shall 
rush to ruin, the atmosphere being on fire, shall pass off with a 
great noise ; the earth, through all its continents, and over all its 
oceans, breaking out into a blaze of fire, shall be burnt up, — invol- 
ving in one wide consuming fire, all the works of man, and all 
the scenes of nature, amid which man had lived, and labored, and 
died. All, all will perish then, in one universal, fiery, funeral 
pyre ; and nothing of what we now see, above, beneath around, 
will remain : — but as the miserable exiles, while " going away," 
ever and anon look back, they will behold, where earth once was, 
only one vast, dreary, desolate, dim vacancy, over which sullen si- 
lence broods frigidly in gloomy stillness. Such shall the end be 
of this meeting with thy God, man! 

What more needs to be said of this great interview with your 
God ? Are you not sufficiently impressed with its solemnity and 
importance, to feel anxious that you may be ready for its require- 
ments ? Consider then, 

II. The requisite preparatives, which the interview demands. 

" Prepare to meet thy God." 

It is not so difficult to ascertain what preparatives are requisite ; 
as it is to get slothful sinners, — " slow of heart to believe" all that 
Prophets and Apostles have written — to set about, in good earnest, 
and without further delay, securing to themselves a moral fitness 
for this final interview with their Sovereign Judge. These attain- 
ments in religion, which constitute the requisite preparation " to 
meet our God," are notorious ; and they are well understood by 
every one, that want of sense, or want of opportunity, has not made 
incapable of comprehension. These preparations will, in a cur- 
sory manner, be mentioned now, — not because they are unknown, 
nor because they are not understood ; — but that they may be re- 
called to minds averse, " that like not to retain the knowledge of 
God," or the things of God! remember then, ye careless ones, 
if you would be " prepared to meet your God," — you must expe- 
rience evangelical repentance, — you must also realize the pardon 
of your sins, — and you must, besides, be born again. 
45 



354 THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 

1. Evangelical repentance is requisite, to prepare you "to meet 
your God." 

You are grievously guilty offenders in the sight of God. You 
have broken his holy law, — opposed his righteous government, — 
abused, or misused his providential gifts, — despised his rightful 
authority, — and done damage to the world, which he made for his 
own pleasure and glory ; and before he will be reconciled to you, 
or be willing to be on terms of friendship with you, he expects 
you, not only to acknowledge to him your wrongs against his law, 
government, and works, but also that you should feel a deep and 
true sorrow on account of these wrongs you have done him. He 
therefore " commands all men every where to repent," — and you 
among the all ; and he warns you, that " except you repent," — 
by confessing and forsaking your evil ways, with a contrite 
spirit, — "you shall all likewise perish." If then you would not 
appear before him, to be regarded by him as an obstinate, and 
incorrigible offender, — if you would not meet God "to perish," — 
you must go into his presence truly penitent ; convinced of the 
number and enormity of your offences against him, and sorrowing 
over your sins with a godly sorrow. " Repent therefore every one 
of you" that you may be "prepared to meet your God." Until 
you come to this state of mind, you continue in the character of a 
rebel towards God, engaged perseveringly in acts of rebellion against 
his moral government, resisting wickedly the claims of his sover- 
eign authority: and for you "to meet" him in this character, — as 
an unrelenting rebel, — must occasion a tremendous interview be- 
tween you ! You thereby make him your enemy, and compel him 
to be your antagonist forever : and 0, think of God as an enemy ; 
think of him as your enemy, in particular; — then think of meeting 
him, as such, — frowning and threatening, and damning you to all 
eternity; — and are you willing to risk such an interview? "Re- 
pent then every one of you," that God may be at peace with you, 
when you meet him ! 

2. The conscious pardon of your sins is also requisite to prepare 
you " to meet your God." 

God has " set forth his own son to be a propitiation" for the 
sins of the whole world. By his vicarious passion, — his expiatory 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 355 

blood-shedding and his meritorious soul-offering, — a sacrifice for 
the atonement of moral guilt was provided, at the option, and effi- 
cacious for the purpose of securing the personal pardon, of all, who 
are willing to avail themselves of its absolving virtue upon the 
conditions stipulated in the word of God. " We have redemption 
through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins." " He, who knew 
no sin, was made a sin-offering for us, that we might be made the 
righteousness of God in him." "And the blood of Jesus Christ 
his son cleanseth us from all sin." To secure this forgiveness of 
sin "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" by personal 
appropriation, and in individual experience, you must "believe on 
the son of God." "We are justified by faith." "He that be- 
lieveth is justified." "Him hath God set forth to be a propitiation 
through faith in his blood." If therefore you would realize that 
pardon of your personal guilt, provided for in the atonement of 
Christ, — you can do so only by " believing with the heart unto 
righteousness." Faith in the sin-atoning Redeemer, at the same 
time, removes the sense of guilt toward God, and secures the con- 
sciousness of forgiveness from God. " Believe then on the Lord 
Jesus Christ," if you would meet God in judgment, freed from the 
terrors of a guilty conscience, and fortified with the sustaining con- 
sciousness that your offences against God are all absolved. Until 
you believe, by a true and living faith upon the son of God, you 
are a sinner, — a sinner under sentence of death for your sins, — a 
sinner chargeable with sins, that must consign you to an eternal 
separation from God : and — thus sinful, — condemned already, — 
hell-doomed as you are, — can you dare "to meet your God," with 
the dreadful certainty of receiving from him that horrifying repulse, 
" Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire ?" Believe with all thine 
heart, — believe on the Lord Jesus Christ : — then when you meet 
your God, you will be " accepted in the beloved ;" because 
"there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." 

3. Genuine conversion is finally requisite to prepare you "to 
meet your God." 

The divine decree has gone forth, that "without holiness no man 
shall see the Lord." Be assured, such is the determination of the 
Lord God Almighty, who cannot lie, and who will not change his 



356 THE FINAL CONSUMMATION OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE. 

rule of action; that He will, on no account, admit to a friendly ? 
or cordial reception into his presence on the last day, any human 
being destitute of true holiness. Of this holiness however all 
mankind are, by nature deficient; nor can its possession be obtain- 
ed but in one way, — that is, by the spiritual change of a real con- 
version. The soul must be morally transformed, by the renewing 
of the Holy Ghost, before that evangelical holiness can be had, 
which God requires, and which is necessary to acceptance before 
him. If then you would have a favorable or friendly meeting with 
your God, "you must be born again." — You must be "renewed 
in the spirit of your minds." — You must become "new creatures 
in Christ Jesus." — 0, then seek, in this manner, to be prepared 
"to meet your God!" — Without that genuine holiness, which is 
alone obtained through the regeneration of the soul, your approach- 
ing interview with God cannot be otherwise than calamitous in the 
extreme. Your odious depravity contrasted with his spotless pu- 
rity, — your polluted nature contrasted with his perfect excellency, 
the disaffected feeling of your hearts' alienation from him, put in 
opposition with the supreme worthiness of his character, which so 
justly entitles him to your first and best regard, — would overwhelm 
you with confusion and dismay in the presence of his glory! — 
Strive then for true holiness, through the experience of real conver- 
sion; and in the possession of this essential acquisition, you will 
be finally prepared "to meet your God." 

Such are the preparatives which this decisive interview de- 
mands. Having unfeignedly repented of your sins, and secured 
the forgiveness of your guilt by faith in Christ Jesus, and being 
renewed in righteousness and true holiness," — you will have no- 
thing to fear ; but when lightenings flash, and thunders roar, and 
trumpets sound, and the heavens burn, and the earth shakes, and 
the tombs burst, and the dead arise, and the Deity appears in his 
terrible majesty, — you may go out to meet him in the confidence 
of security, and with the assurance of the glad greeting, " Come, 
thou blessed-^nler into the joy of thy Lord." 

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